Star Fox: Internal Affairs
by Owen Borne
Summary: Set after Star Fox Assault, Fox and his team return to Corneria expecting a hero's welcome, but are instead greeted by General Pepper's replacement who turns out to be more trouble than the team may be ready for.
1. Chapter 1

**Star Fox: Internal Affairs**

Chapter 1 – Broken Promises

It was a good thing Peppy was always prepared. If not, the Star Fox team would still be drifting through space in their fuel depleted Arwings. Instead, Peppy had called up an old friend from Katina and one of Peppy's hidden Great Fox's was delivered to them. Being one of only three stashed throughout the Lylat system, it was a lucky day for the Star Fox team.

Fox McCloud, the leader of the most trustworthy team of mercenaries in the galaxy, stared at one of the many screens on the bridge of the Great Fox. It blinked with symbols and numbers that only Peppy, Slippy, or ROB could understand. Fox was more of a fan of action than technology.

"Hey, Peppy, how long 'til we reach Corneria? We still need to pick up that payment for saving the Lylat System," Fox reminded the team.

"Now, Fox, the money is not what's important," Krystal stated. The sultry vixen strode over to Fox. The 'fearless' leader shifted a bit.

"Even so, we could still use that bounty." Peppy turned in his Captain's chair. "This Great Fox doesn't have all of the new gadgets that the one that we lost did."

Falco perked up. "You mean the one that _you _lost. If you didn't pull that stunt that almost got you killed, we would be in Corneria right now."

"Falco," Slippy said, "did I just hear a sense of care in your voice?"

"No, it's just that he's the only one that knows how to get back to Corneria from that giant anthill we just blew up." Falco turned away, hiding his blushing face.

Krystal smiled. "Well, regardless of where we are, let us all be thankful for everyone's safety," she remarked. Her tail flicked slightly as Fox smiled at her.

"While we're on Corneria, we should probably check on how General Pepper's doing!" Slippy said.

"But that's after we get the money," Falco corrected.

"Fine, whatever."

ROB chimed in over the intercom. "Warp signature confirmed. Making jump to Corneria airspace."

Fox sighed. "Ahhh…home sweet home."

It was a grand reception. The team rolled through the streets of Corneria with banners and flags trailing in their wake. Various species lined the roads, all intent on showing their gratitude for the system's saviors.

Falco was at the front of the car, soaking up the attention that the crowd was giving him. Slippy waved erratically at the crowd. Fox and Krystal sat side by side in the back seat, taking in the views of the adoring crowd.

The parade route concluded at Corneria City Hall. The team filed out of the car and scaled the marble steps of the Parthenon-like structure. At the top, they were greeted by General Pepper's aide, Major Scraps.

"Welcome, lady and gentlemen. Let us take this meeting inside."

The Star Fox team turned and waved to the crowd one last time. They entered the Romanesque building and walked into a great hall. Numerous portraits of former Cornerian leaders were hung high on the walls. Old-faced dogs stared at the team until they entered General Pepper's private office.

Slippy jumped. "The General! He's okay!"

However, sitting behind the General's desk was a large rottweiler. The dog was clad in numerous military medals and campaign ribbons. He stood to meet the team. This dog easily towered over Falco by half a meter. This stranger appeared to have muscle in places where most people don't even have places.

Slippy took a step back. "Who are you? And where's General Pepper? And-."

The canine's voice shook the various military commodities on the desk. "QUIET!" Slippy stepped backwards into Fox. The dog cleared his throat. "Please, have a seat."

To Fox, it sounded more like a command than an offering. "No, thanks."

"Very well," the dog replied gruffly. He strode back to his desk and continued. "As you have noticed, Corneria is _pleased _with your safe return. The dog looked pained to say the word. "You have saved the Lylat System."

"Again," Falco added.

The stranger continued as if he didn't even know Falco was there. "You may be wondering where General Pepper is."

"Yes, we-," Krystal started.

The dog cut her off. "He is injured beyond active duty. I will be replacing him until he is _better_." The canine smirked at the word.

"And who are you?" Fox asked. His concern for Pepper waned as his curiosity about this newcomer peaked.

"I," the dog stated, while polishing an insignia on his hat, "am the acting General of all Cornerian forces. I am Lieutenant-Colonel Jerevicious Kain." His eyes lingered on Krystal.

"Yeah, well, nice to meet you _stick_," Falco nonchalantly joked.

"Kain," the lieutenant brashly announced.

Slippy, still curious about the General's health spoke up. "What's wrong with the General?"

"He is incapacitated from the injuries sustained from _your_," Kain emphasized the word, "assault on his flagship. He is bedridden and comatose."

"Hey," Fox snapped, "if we hadn't destroyed his infected ship, all of Corneria would be underwater by now!"

Kain was unconvinced. "Nevertheless, Pepper is out of duty."

"You know," Fox said, as he knew it wasn't worth the time to squabble with this ignorant dog, "we just came for our payment."

"Ah yes. You bounty hunters are all the same," Kain said as he reached into his desk. "I don't know why Pepper deals with the likes of you anyway." He handed Fox a check. Krystal flinched. Her action went unnoticed by the team, who were intently eyeing Kain.

Fox opened to check and realized there must have been a mistake. The quantity in the check wasn't even half of what Pepper had originally promised them. "Hey, Kain," Fox started.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Kain," the dog corrected.

Fox ignored him. "We were promised more than this."

Kain grunted in disgust. "Of course you remember the extensive damage you caused to Corneria City!"

Falco stepped up. "That was those stinking Aparoids that attacked the city, not us. If you haven't noticed, we were the ones saving your-." Fox pushed Falco back.

Kain continued as if not interrupted. "Your negligence caused damage on a large scale. We simply needed the money for repairs. Not to give to questionable," Kain paused, "mercenaries."

The entire team was shaking with anger. Slippy's eyes were bulging and Falco hands were balled into tight fists. Fox looked dead into Kain's eyes. Krystal, however, had her hand to her temple. She seemed in pain. However, as before, her actions went unnoticed, overshadowed by the current events.

Just as Fox was about to open his mouth, a messenger of the Cornerian army burst through the door of the office. "Sir." He was panting. "Sir." The aide struggled to catch his breath.

"Out with it, Private!" Kain barked.

"Sir, we have just made long range contact with known enemy vessels. They are spawning uncontrollably and have the ability to jam some of our radars."

Fox turned to the messenger. "Do you mean…"

"Sir," the aide straightened to his full height, "the Aparoids are back!"

The team turned to face their leader, who turned to face the interim General. Fox and Kain met eyes in an icy stare. For a full thirty seconds, neither moved. Then, Kain spoke.

"It seems your mission is not yet complete. Go. This time, destroy the Aparoids. Keep them away from Corneria and you might just get your payment."

Fox stared at the dog for another five seconds before abruptly turning on his heel and exiting the room. Falco and Slippy followed suit.

Krystal lingered behind for mere seconds. She glanced at the massive rottweiler. Their eyes met, and, for a moment, the telepath sensed that Kain was within her body. She blinked rapidly, and the feeling was gone. Kain was walking towards his desk. Krystal did not know what just happened, but all of her sense told her to follow Fox closely. Krystal did just that, all the way to the Great Fox.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Pick On Someone Your Own Size

Fox surveyed the exterior of his Arwing. Smudged paint, a few cracks in the glass of the cockpit, and only one of the thrusters was pointing straight back. It needed serious refitting, but thanks to Kain, Fox's Arwing was going to stay in that condition until they got some money.

"It's not like money would matter now anyway," Fox rationalized. "There wouldn't be time to get repairs and still meet the Aparoids in time."

Then, Fox's wrist communicator buzzed. It was ROB. "Yeah, what's wrong?"

"No-thing," the robot answered. "Your pres-ence is re-quested on the bridge."

"Alright. I'm coming."

Fox began the walk from the hangar to the bridge. He passed through the sliding doors and walked up the hallway that he and his team had run so many times. Except for Krystal. She had only done it once before they took down Oikonny.

Fox's mind lingered on Krystal. He remembered the first time he saw her on Sauria. Trapped and helpless. Only Fox could have saved her, and he did.

Fox closed his eyes as he walked. He imagined Krystal's face in front of his, as it was when she first spoke to him at the Krazoa Palace. "Man, is she beautiful," Fox thought. "I wonder if we could ever-."

His thought was cut short by the sliding doors that were labeled 'BRIDGE' in stencil. Fox stepped onto the bridge to be greeted by his fellow teammates.

"Fox, what were you doing?" Falco asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking about Kain."

Peppy growled. "I picked up the meeting on your wrist communicator. I didn't even know there were dogs like that in the Cornerian army."

The team stood there, fuming about the Lieutenant-Colonel's insolence. It must have been a minute before Fox spoke.

"You said you wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," Peppy responded, snapping out of his anger-filled trance. "I spoke to Beltino before we left, and he gave me some information regarding these new Aparoids."

The entire team sat straighter in their chairs. Most of them had forgotten about the Aparoids. They had never been as frustrated with Kain as they have with any other person before.

"Beltino rechecked his calculations on the self-destruct program, and it was foolproof," Peppy explained. "He said that the program should have destroyed all of the Aparoids."  
"Well, at least it worked," Falco replied sarcastically.

"Why didn't the program work?" Krystal asked.

"We don't know, exactly. Maybe one of them survived through an anomaly and somehow multiplied. We just don't know." Peppy sounded stumped.

Fox took charge. "It doesn't matter how they survived. Now, all that matters is their destruction."

The team grew braver. They were used to this gung-ho approach of their leader. And they liked it.

"So what's the plan? I doubt the bugs are just going to roll out the welcome mat for us," Falco said.

Peppy consulted a screen in front of his chair. "An Aparoid force has amassed in the space above Macbeth. There are high radioactivity readings emanating from a spot in Macbeth airspace. We need to investigate and destroy the source."

Fox smiled. This is what he liked. Action. "Okay team, we have a few hours before we reach Macbeth. Get some rest and check your supplies." With that, the team filed out of the bridge.

They each headed to their respective rooms. Slippy took a left from the bridge, Falco, a right. Being on an old version of the Great Fox, it was built for four people. Fox had given up his room to give to Krystal. Fox watched Krystal stroll to his former room.

However, Fox had noticed something back in Kain's office. He sped up toward Krystal. "Hey, Krystal, are you all right?"

The vixen turned, obviously startled. "What? Why would you ask?"

"Back in Kain's office, you were really quiet. Is something wrong?"

Krystal looked uncomfortable. "When you took that check from Kain. I sensed something. Something foreign. Something I hadn't felt since Sauria."

Fox stepped closer to Krystal. "Krystal, if there is anything wrong, you can tell me."

Krystal gave Fox a thankful smile. "Fox, as long as you are near, I am never in harm." Krystal turned and strode into her room. It was a good thing too; because Fox's normally white cheeks had turned a light pink.

Green light flashed against the hull of the Arwing. Energy splashed across the shield of the ship. Fox pushed the throttle of the thrusters and outran the enemy Aparoid. A loop and two lasers later, the flying Aparoid burst into a white-hot ball of flame.

"Yeah! Just as easy as last time!" yelled Falco.

Fox smirked. He too was glad to be back in the skies. There was one place where he felt right: his Arwing.

"Look out, Fox!" Peppy warned. Fox dove at the last second to avoid a head-on collision with an Aparoid that looked like a cross between a staple remover and a cue ball.

The battle had been going well. The team was performing as usual. A few unshakable enemies here and there, but nothing too bad. Fox especially kept a close eye on Krystal. It seemed unnecessary though. Krystal did not have a single enemy on her tail the entire day.

Fox spun to deflect some stray lasers, righted himself, and fired a trio of lasers into a pack of enemies. They erupted into a mesh of steel and fire.

"This can't be right," thought Fox. He queued his radio and said, "Team, keep your guards up. The Aparoids were never easy to defeat before. They must be hiding something."

"Fox is right," Krystal added. "We need to be careful."

A ship exploded right in front of Fox's cockpit as Falco sped past. "Yeah right. I'll take it easy when al these bugs are squashed."

Fox was beginning to relax when his emergency frequency rang. "Fox!"

"What is it, Peppy?"

"Fox, your shields are dropping."

Fox checked his shields, and they were at 75 and dropping steadily. "But I'm not taking any hits!?"

This time, ROB spoke. "De-tecting lethal ra-diation levels."

"But where is it coming from?" Slippy asked.

Fox was already pulling up. His ship's proximity sensors had located a giant object, meters from the nose of his ship. Fox was near vertical when he made a U-turn to right himself.

Fox launched a standard issue Cornerian B-type bomb at the location that he had just avoided. The bomb seemed to hit a wall in space and explode. Space shimmered where the explosive had detonated. Specks of green light were appearing all over space. Slowly, they became connected by green lines. Then, the hull of a gigantic ship surrounded the ship to form a grid of green lights on top of a seemingly endless sheet of solid metal.

Peppy gasped through the radio. "That must be…"

"The King Aparoid," Fox finished.

"Since when was there a King Aparoid?" Slippy wondered.

"Since when did it matter"? Falco rhetorically added as he launched three bombs in succession at this new behemoth. As soon as the bombs got 20 meters from Falco's ship, they were gunned down by green lasers that were shot from three of the hundreds of motes of green light on the ship.

"Fox," Peppy called, "those lasers are pure concentrated radiation! They can take out your Arwing with one shot!"

"So please be careful!" Krystal added. Her voice was shaking.

Fox saw one of the lasers flash and dodged just as a ray of light shot past his wing. Even though he didn't get hit, the radiation from the shot lowered his shields.

"Shoot those turrets!" Peppy ordered.

Fox fired off bombs and lasers alike, aiming for any and all laser turrets in his range. A few bombs either missed or were shot down, but for the two that did hit, three turrets exploded. A few more lucky dodges and more extremely lucky shots, another six turrets were sent hurtling into space.

The King Aparoid stopped firing. No more lasers threatened the team.

Slippy celebrated. "Hooray! I think we beat him!"

"FOX, LOOK OUT!" Krystal screamed.

The enemy ship was turning 180 degrees vertically. Fox spun a loop to avoid the edge of the ship crashing into him.

The backside of the King gave a drastically different view than the front. The square side was adorned with four enormous pods, spaced evenly apart at the corners. The pods took up the entire backside of the ship. The pods began to tinge a light pink.

"Fox," Peppy said. His voice was shaking as well. "Fox, listen very carefully. Those pods are from a Cornerian class battleship that was discontinued after the Great War. They each fire a super dense particle beam missile the size of a small skyscraper. You. Need. To. Move."

Fox lingered for a second to comprehend what Peppy had just told him. Then, he punched the thrusters and busted a U-turn. He sped away from eh ship as fast as his boost would allow.

Radio silence granted Fox the opportunity to hear what sounded like a planet exploding. Fox turned around to see a flash of pink light, then smoke. Only seconds were necessary for a giant pencil-like missile to emerge from the dust. It flew with the speed of an Arwing. The nose of the missile was tipped with a solid silver casing. Inside were 3-tons of unadulterated uranium.

Fox continued to speed up. As he was barreling on, another deafening explosion emanated from the ship. Then another one and one more. Four 'planet-killers,' as the soldiers would call them, were now chasing an Arwing a fraction of their size.

The boost ran out of fuel and the Arwing slowed. The missiles, however, kept the same speed. They were gaining on him. Fast.

Fox banked to his right and continued on that way. He turned again to see the missiles traveling straight. They overtook his former position. Fox sighed.

"It's okay, team. The missiles are gone, they sped past me."

Peppy spoke. "Good, Fox. Now all we have to do is-."

His thought was cut short by static. Fox threw his headset to the floor to save his ears. He wondered what could have caused the static when he looked back. Four gigantic missiles were charging at him, yet again.

"No! They're homing missiles!" Fox gunned his Arwing to evade the perilous projectiles. They were closing in on him.

A light blinked on in Fox's dashboard. It read 'Low Fuel.'

"This can't be happening."

It was happening, and Fox's Arwing was losing speed. He had only one option, no matter how risky it seemed.

Fox pushed the thrusters to max and headed straight for the King Aparoid. The missiles closed the gap between themselves and the tiny ship to 5 thousand meters and closing.

A distant voice blared through Fox's headset, which was on the floor of the cockpit. Even though it was garbled with static, Fox knew it was Krystal.

"Fox! Wha- you- oing? –ox, -ove! Fox wanted to tell her of his plan, but he couldn't reach the headset and there wasn't enough time to reach down and pick it up.

The missiles closed to 3 thousand meters. Fox sped towards the King at mach speeds. He was a thousand feet from the King, who had flipped over again and was firing more radioactive lasers.

Fox dodged the lasers with barrel rolls. One after another, they barely missed.

He was five hundred meters from the ship. The missiles, however, were 500 meters away from him, and gaining.

Fox counted down the distance between them and the missiles. "400…300…20…"

Fox yanked on the stick of the Arwing. It jolted up at almost a 70 degree angle at once. He was 50 meters from the surface of the ship. His shields dropped from radiation.

Fox pulled even harder on the stick of his ship and got the 90 degree angle that he wanted. The Arwing was completely vertical now. Fox climbed straight up, faster than his Arwing had ever gone before.

He cleared the top of the King's ship and continued vertically up into space. The missiles, however, were too large to maneuver in such a tight space. The first missile crashed into the King's ship the send him hurtling sideways. The second and third hit at the same time to become lodged in opposite places of the front of the ship. The fourth missile hit dead center of the King's ship. Seconds later, all four missiles detonated. An explosion like no other followed. The King was literally disintegrated.

Fox, however, had blacked out.

When Fox woke up, he was lying on a bed in Krystal's room while she hovered over him, watching him intently and looking very worried.

"Fox!" she cried. "You're awake!" She hugged him ecstatically.

Fox was caught off guard but quickly recovered. "What happened?"

Krystal wore a wide smile. She was obviously pleased that Fox was alright. "After you destroyed the Aparoid King, you weren't responding to our radio contacts. We went out and brought you and your Arwing back into the Great Fox."

Fox was still disorientated from his space battle. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. When he looked up again, Krystal looked extremely sad and frightened.

"What's wrong, Krystal?" Fox asked.

"I," Krystal started, "I thought I had lost you for a moment. When you didn't respond, I thought you…were gone."

Fox continued to stare into Krystal's deep eyes. "But I'm right here, aren't I?" This brought an appreciating smile back onto Krystal's face, which, in turn, lit up Fox as well.

"Krystal?" the intercom blasted. It was Peppy. "Krystal, are you there?"

"Yes I am. And so is Fox." She glanced over to him and gave him a loving smile.

"Oh good. Could both of you come down to the bridge please?"

"Sure thing," she replied. And with that, she helped Fox up and they both walked to the bridge.

Fox stared at the image on the screen. It was a little blurry do to weak satellites, but the details were still discernable. The red and black chassis, the four silver knife-like wings, and the unmistakable glint of a robotic eye.

Fox had been expecting this.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Classic Wolf

"Hello, Wolf," Fox said through the transmission link.

"Hmph," the gang boss replied. It was never a truly happy moment when Wolf showed up, but his assistance against the Aparoids had been invaluable. He had risked his life more than once for the benefit of the Star Fox team. Perhaps their assistance could be used again to combat this new force of Aparoids.

Fox smiled. Even though Wolf had sworn that they were rivals, Fox felt that he had recently acquired a new ally.

"I see you made it out of the Aparoid Homeworld," Fox said. All he received in reply was another grunt.

Most of the team was grateful for what Wolf had done for them. Krystal, Slippy, and Fox admired their willingness to fight for the Lylat System, while Falco still held an unshakable grudge against Leon.

Having only received mono-syllabic guttural noises form Wolf, Fox grew uncomfortable. It was not exactly like there was common ground between the two of them. A thug and a valiant hero make strange bedfellows indeed.

Fox turned to his team. Falco shrugged. Krystal wore a perplexed look on her face. Slippy was working on a damaged panel.

"Alright, no help from them," Fox thought to himself.

Krystal's look of puzzlement changed to one of curiosity. "Wolf," she said through the com link, "if you survived the destruction of the Aparoids, then did Leon and Panther, as well?"

The other end of the link instantly filled with white noise as the link failed. Low-quality static filled the speakers on the bridge. Krystal turned to Fox.

"What do you thing this means, Fox?" she questioned.

"It means we're under attack!" Fox pointed to the radar screen at the wall. It showed on red blip, Wolf, speeding towards the Great Fox from the left. Then, two red blips appeared to the right of the Great Fox.

"They're flanking us!" Falco pointed out.

Fox needed to act quickly. It was just like Wolf told him, "When the time comes, don't hesitate, just act."

"Team, we need to engage them in space. Move to the Arwings."

Fox had already taken a few steps toward the bridge exit when Slippy called out, "Uhh, Fox?"

"What is it Slippy? We need to move." Fox was getting antsy. He really wanted to be out in the skies.

"Well, after that move you did to defeat the Aparoid King, we couldn't salvage your Arwing."

"WHAT!?!?" Fox yelled.

"Well, you lost your left wing, and the G-diffuser system was broken due to the radiation exposure. There was nothing we-," Falco deliberately coughed, "_I _could do."

Fox shook his head. "Well, this is just great."

Fox watched laser fire slam into the hull of the Great Fox as he stood on the bridge. With his ship totaled and floating somewhere in space, Fox could do was watch. And it was killing him.

"Falco, to your left," he instructed as Falco veered to the right to avoid a kamikaze Leon speeding in from the left.

The three members of Star Fox were engaging the enemies of Star Wolf in the nothingness of space. They seemed to be fairing quite well, but the limited view of the bridge only granted so much of a spectacle to the eye.

All Fox wanted to do right now was get answers. He wanted to know how the Aparoids came back, even though Bettino had guaranteed that the program would work. He wanted to know why Lieutenant-Colonel Kain had acted to aggressive towards them even thought they had just recently saved the Lylat System. Fox wanted to know why Wolf and his team had turned on them so quickly, even thought the Aparoids were still threatening Lylat. And after studying a viewscreen on the bridge, Fox wanted to know why Wolf was trailing Krystal, but not firing.

Fox keyed the radio. "Krystal, you have an enemy on your tail. Shake him."

"I…I can't!" she replied. "He's too fast. I need your help, Fox!"

Fox took a step in the direction of the hangar before he realized that he didn't have an Arwing. He fumed for a brief moment over his brazenness and then stepped back to the control panel form which he was standing before. He studied Krystal's predicament a bit closer and got an idea.

"Krystal," Fox said, "Krystal, I have a plan, but you are going to have to do whatever I say, when I say it. Okay?"

Krystal's link wasn't silent for a nanosecond. She instantly responded, "Of course, Fox. I trust you."

Fox cursed himself for a moment. He feared for Krystal's safety in what he was about to make her do.

"Okay, Krystal. Wait five seconds later and execute a U-turn with a 270 degree turn to your right." Five seconds later, Krystal banked right and was now traveling to the left of her original position.

During the maneuver, Wolf had broken to the left, anticipating the opposite of what Krystal did. Wolf had made a U-turn and was now facing Krystal. The two enemy ships were heading straight for each other.

"Krystal," Fox commanded. "Open fire!"

Krystal launched a salvo of laser fire at the incoming Wolfen. Wolf dove and dodged to avoid the attack and leveled up to face Krystal again. However, even though she was in his crosshairs, Wolf held his fire. The two ships were 500 meters apart and closing.

"Krystal, don't stop firing!" Fox exclaimed.

Krystal resumed her attack, this time adding bombs to the mix. Wolf applied the same technique to evade this new assault, but one of the bombs clipped his wing and caused moderate damage.

At 150 meters apart, the ships still sped forward. Notably enraged, Wolf's laser cannon glowed red. At this short distance, Wolf was sure to hit. Yet, the sphere of deadly energy stayed safely within the barrels of his Wolfen.

At 50 meters apart, Wolf veered out of his path and did a loop to allow Krystal to turn to her right.

Fox contemplated his next move. Should he do it? Would Krystal place all of her trust in him to do it? Was Fox worthy of her trust? With a pained sigh, Fox came to his decision.

"Okay, Krystal. Now, I want you to get level with Wolf. Just like before."

"Yes, Fox," Krystal answered. There was no doubt in her voice. Fox wished he could say the same for his. Krystal turned around and flew a straight pattern. Wolf had already turned around and was on the same spatial plane as Krystal.

Fox closed his eyes. There was no turning back now. "Krystal, stay this course. Do not turn, or for that matter, fire. Maintain this course."

Krystal, sensing Fox's anxiety, replied, "Fox, I trust you."

Once again, Fox kicked himself for putting Krystal in direct danger like this. But, if Krystal trusted him, there was no way he would abuse her trust.

The two ships sped to attack each other. Krystal kept steady, as did the menacing Wolf. Wolf's lasers charged, once again, to their full capacity. The fire-red sphere burned within the metallic laser chambers.

"Krystal," Fox said. "Krystal, ram him." Krystal's ship sped up. However, so did Wolf's.

Fox ran over to the starboard window of the Great Fox. He was a blue-white ship heading straight for a red-black ship. They were about 150 meters apart.

The energy projectile in the Wolfen was still holding in its chambers. At short range again, Wolf would not miss. However, he did not fire.

The two chassis of steel barreled at each other against the backdrop of a black abyss. Fox wished he were out there, in the line of fire. Not Krystal. Anyone but Krystal. "If she gets hurt…," Fox thought to himself.

The vessels were 100 meters apart. Neither pilot showed any sign of weakness in this extreme game of chicken.

50 meters.

Fox held his breath. At this range, that charged shot would take out Krystal's shields with a single shot. Even more harrowing to Fox was the fact that if they collided at that speed, both would have worse off problems than blown shields. They would be dead. Fox gripped the handrail.

Wolf's plane shook a bit. Fox raised an eyebrow, albeit a nervous one. Krystal's ship kept steady.

25 meters.

Wolf's boosters shut off.

15 meters.

Krystal turned on her boosters.

5 meters.

Wolf slammed on his brakes and executed a barrel roll to the right. One of his anti-grav blades on his Wolfen scraped the cockpit glass of Krystal's Arwing. Wolf had chickened out. Krystal had scared off Wolf.

Fox was overwhelmed. He was pleased to see that his plan had succeeded and that they had a chance to win this battle. However, Fox was ecstatic that Krystal was okay. Fox was forever grateful to whatever spirits that had kept Krystal safe during that encounter.

"Fox!" Krystal cried. "Fox, that was amazing!"

"No," Fox corrected, "you're amazing."

Fox ran back to the control panel and examined Slippy and Falco's status. They were under constant fire.

"Krystal," Fox said. "Go and help out Slippy and Falco."

"But what about Wolf?" she asked.

"Don't worry about Wolf." Fox smirked. "He can't touch you." Krystal laughed through the radio and sped off towards the struggling members of the Star Fox team.

Krystal arrived at Slippy's location and began blasting Panther. The feline had opportunities to shoot Krystal, but for some reason, laid off the trigger. Panther pulled away from Slippy.

"Look's like the date's off, Panther," Krystal joked.

Fox was startled. "What? What date?" He was stuttering.

"Nothing, Fox. It was a joke," she replied.

"Oh." Fox sat down, thoroughly embarrassed.

Krystal proceeded to move on to assist Falco. The same scenario occurred with Panther. Leon had many chances to gun down Krystal, but no lasers emanated from his Wolfen.

After Leon was shaken off of Falco, Star Wolf zoomed off into space. However, before Fox lost radio contact, he could have sworn he heard Wolf mention something to Leon about a bounty.

"It was odd. I felt his presence behind me, but Wolf did not fire. Other than the minor collision, I was untouched through the entire battle."

Krystal had just finished retelling her side of the battle to the team that had recently congregated on the bridge of the Great Fox.

The team stood gratified for a moment. They had beaten one of the best outfits of fighter pilots in the universe.

"I can't believe we beat them!" Slippy exclaimed. "And, we did it without Fox's help!"

Krystal lovingly smiled at Fox. "Well, not totally without his help."

The team settled down in their respective chairs when Falco spoke. "So, what do we do now?"

Fox sarcastically laughed. "We get to see the Lieutenant-Colonel," he said as he held his wrist communicator up for the team to see. It beeped incessantly and blinked the message, 'EMERGENCY.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Kain's Korruption

Fox tapped his foot impatiently outside the door of Lieutenant-Colonel Kain's office. He, along with the rest of the Star Fox team, had been told that Kain was 'busy.' Fox doubted the seriousness of Kain's distress signal when they were waiting for him to finish a meeting.

Fox paced the floor of the atrium, observing various portraits of former Cornerian leaders. About twenty canvases covered the walls. However, at the end of the line of portraits, there was an empty frame. The title still hung underneath, though. It read 'General Pepper.'

"Only Kain would do something like that, the power hungry mutt," Fox thought to himself. He returned to his seat outside the door. Krystal sat to his right.

"Hey, Krystal," Fox whispered as he leaned over, "are you going to be alright this time?"

"Fox," Krystal replied. Her voice was light and full of confidence. "What did I tell you last time? As long as you are near, I will never be in danger. You proved that to yourself in the battle against Wolf. That was an amazing tactic."

Fox blushed a little and turned away embarrassed. "Well…uh…maybe…"

His romantic bumbling was cut short by the creaking of the solid mahogany door that blocked the opening of Kain's office behind them. The team looked back to see two canines exiting the office. One was their favorite military man, Jerevicious Kain. The other was a proverbial solid block of muscle. A pit bull, he wore a suspicious smile full of razor sharp teeth. The most astounding thing about this stranger was the fact that he stood a head taller then Kain, who was a head taller than Falco!

Despite the obvious intimidation factor that this daunting newcomer presented, Falco did not miss an opportunity to poke fun. "I hope we weren't interrupting anything."

Kain turned to his unknown visitor. "Such low-brow humor amongst birds." The dog snorted. Falco clenched his fists.

"Please," Kain requested mockingly, "let us take this meeting to private quarters."

The Star Fox team reluctantly followed Kain inside of his office. The gargantuan pit bull followed behind them and, once inside, stood at the closed door.

Kain sat down at his desk. The various commodities on his desk shook as he placed his massive arms on the table. "Now, I trust that you have dealt with the Aparoids?"

Fox was pleased to rub his accomplishment in Kain's face. "Yah, we took out the King Aparoid." Fox glanced back at his team. They stood straight and wore a look of pride on their faces.

Kain seemed neither impressed, grateful, nor surprised. His demeanor was one of quiet satisfaction. Kain sat with a small smirk on his face. It was as if he had been expecting Fox to say that.

Krystal, who seemed much more alert than the last time she was in the same room as Kain, posed a question. "What was that emergency distress signal you sent us?"

Kain stood without saying a word and strode over to a file cabinet in the back of his organized office. He opened it and pulled out a folder and slapped it back down on the surface of his desk. Kain gestured to the folder.

Fox opened the folder to reveal high-resolution photographs of the Titania desert. There were pictures of burning houses and millions of Aparoids. There were pictures of fleeing citizens and gruesome insect-like machines.

"The Aparoids has infested and destroyed much of the new settlements that Corneria has tried to set up on Titania," Kain explained. He spoke in a detached manner, as if he cared nothing about the matter. "You must go and stop them."

"How am I supposed to stop the Aparoids in I don't have an Arwing?" Fox said as he tried to corner Kain.

However, the antagonistic dog merely laughed as if greatly amused by the inquiry. "That is not my problem. You caused the destruction of your own ship."

"But how am I supposed to help you if-," Fox was cut off.

Kain suddenly became angered. He stood up and went nose-to-nose with Fox, who didn't move an inch. "Listen to me, you scum. You do not 'help me.' I tell you what to do and you do it. You shot what I tell you to shoot. This is not a cordial relationship. You are the dirty mercenary. I am the General."

Fox smirked. "Don't you mean _Lieutenant-Colonel_?"

Kain was shaking with rage. He turned his back to everyone in the room and clasped his hands behind his back a la the 'at ease' stance.

"Go to Titania and rescue the Governor trapped within the capital building there. Complete this mission and you will have your bounty."

Fox stood in defiance for a few moments before he turned on his heel and exited the room. However, as he took a step out of the office, Kain's voice stopped him. "Oh, and McCloud, to ensure that you actually destroy the Aparoids this time, my assistant, Sergeant Carne, will be accompanying you."

Fox looked to his left and up a meter. The pit bull in military armaments brandished his trademark teeth in a chilling smile. Fox stared him down, not succumbing to his daunting presence.

Fox looked over his shoulder at Kain, only to receive the view of the Lieutenant-Colonel's back. Fox strode out of the office, his team in tow. Unfortunately, so was the 'newest member of team Star Fox', Sergeant Carne.

Fox stood alone again in the hangar of the Great Fox. Already en route to Titania, he finally had some time to think about all that had happened.

"There are just too many things going on," he said aloud, although talking to no one in particular.

Fox did have a point. He had to account for this new race of Aparoids, who, despite the loss of their King and Queen, were still organized enough o take out a Cornerian settlement. Fox's mind was boggled by the betrayal Star Wolf had handed his team. Why had they turned on them so quickly when the Aparoids still threatened the Lylat System?

And then there was Kain. What was his problem? He seemed to despise the Star Fox team from the moment he saw them back on Corneria. Now, he had sent his personal thug to 'assure' the destruction of the Aparoids. "All Carne will do is get in the way," Fox though to himself.

The hangar bay doors slid pen, breaking Fox's relative solitude. Fox turned to see who had interrupted him to see the blue-white fur of the local telepath.

Krystal walked towards him. "Fox," she asked, "what are you doing in here?"

"Nothing," Fox replied weakly. "Just thinking."

"About what?" Krystal probed.

"Just all of this stiff that's been going on. Doesn't it seem a little hectic to you?"

"Well, yes," the vixen replied, "but when I decided to join the Star Fox team, I had been expecting periods of time like this when it is extremely trying on the mind. I can focus my energy through magic. It must be exceptionally harder on you, though."

"Ah, Fox replied, "it's not that bad." He tried to sound tough in front of Krystal.

"Well, you certainly handle it well," Krystal complimented him. Fox blushed.

The two's moment was interrupted by the opening of the hangar bay doors. This time, the mountain of a dog, Sergeant Carne walked in.

"Can I help you?" Fox asked rhetorically.

The dog spoke in a low grumble. "I'm just inspecting the ship and its supplies." Carne motioned to the row of Arwings. The slot on the far left, usually reserved for Fox's Arwing, now housed the silver frame of Carne's Cornerian Elite ship. Fox fumed.

Carne strode back to the doors and looked back. His eyes passed form Krystal to Fox to Krystal, where they stayed fixed for a while, before he finally walked from the hangar and back to the bridge.

"He is trouble," Krystal commented.

"I know," Fox agreed.

Krystal once again grew uneasy. It seemed to be a usual occurrence these days. Fox took notice of this and spoke.

"Krystal, are you okay? Is it happening again?"

"Yes," she painfully replied. "That same feeling, like I'm trapped and helpless." Krystal closed her eyes in pain. "It feels like I have nothing. Like I am empty."

Fox was extremely concerned with Krystal's condition. "Maybe you should just stay on the ship."

The idea seemed to snap Krystal out of her pain-induced trance. "No, really, I'm okay. Besides," she smiled, "who else is going to make sure you get out okay?"

Fox smiled back at her. "We must be close to Titania. We better get ready."

Krystal nodded and the two foxes stood and strolled back to their quarters to get prepped.

Fox cranked back on the emergency thrusters of the Landmaster. He rolled to the right and watched the sand where he had been moments before crystallize from the intense heat of the laser shots.

The Cornerian-issued Landmaster tank rumbled to a steady roll as its turret revolved to target the Aparoid circling above. The cannon shook and a laser erupted from its spout. The projectile slammed into the side of the insect-like enemy and sent it hurtling into the sand before it exploded.

"How's it going up there, team?" Fox asked.

Because Fox's Arwing had been destroyed, the only option left for him was to take the only land assault vehicle they had to the ground. Still, Fox preferred to be in the air, alongside Krystal, Falco, and Slippy. However, it was either this or to remain on the Great Fox and coordinate the battle. "No way was that going to happen again," Fox commented to himself.

There was one advantage to being on the ground: Fox didn't have to deal with that brute, Carne. There was just something odd about the way he acted. He would sneak up behind enemy and ally alike, but not fire a shot. Amid the three Arwings and hundreds of airborne Aparoids in the sky, Fox, for some reason, could instantly locate the metallic H-shape of Carne's ship.

Fox boosted the tank up and over a sand dune of the vast Titanian desert. The intense winds, fueled by the incessant swooping of Aparoids above, whipped sand against the windshield of the Landmaster.

"Wooooo!" Falco exclaimed. "Just like last time, you ugly bugs. You came back, but you haven't gotten any better."

An Aparoid crashed into the sand next to Fox. Krystal lightly laughed through the radio, "How was that, Fox?"

Fox smiled. Just as the last time when Fox was not able to battle with his team in the skies, they were doing surprisingly well.

Fox rolled on past a burning house. The metal that had once served as a roof had been ripped away by savage Aparoids, leaving jagged edges that spurted upwards. Flames jumped out of the domicile.

"This is horrible," Fox said.

"I don't see any settlers," Krystal added.

"I've got to make it to the Governor," Fox said.

He checked his radar map that Peppy had uploaded to the Landmaster. The sandstorm had prevented the Great Fox from entering Titania's atmosphere, so the cartography was not complete. A gold dot flashed about 50 meters ahead of his current position. Fox could not see the target due to a giant sand dune in his field of vision.

"Enemy down. This is too easy," bragged Falco.

Fox checked himself before he started to relax. The last time that happened, he lost his Arwing. Fox gunned the boosters and cleared the dune obstructing his view.

Fox expected to see some monstrous machine, like the Aparoid King. At the very least, he expected a battalion of Aparoids to be guarding the exterior of the target. Instead, there were only packs of Aparoids scattered around the door and ledges of the massive sand-colored brick building. The building easily stood 11 stories tall.

"Team, I've located the settlement headquarters," Fox announced. He fired the cannon at a pack of nearing Aparoids and turned them into dust.

"Dang," Fox cursed as he reached the door to the building. "It's too small for the Landmaster. Team, I'm going to have to go in on foot. Are you all going to be okay?"

"Yup," answered Slippy.

"Like I need your help," retorted Falco.

"Fox, be careful in there. I sense something…" Krystal warned. Her voice seemed shaky.

"Don't worry, Krystal," Fox replied. "I'll be back out before you know it."

Fox jumped out on his Landmaster and walked to the open door of the settlement. He looked up at the sky battle on last time before he entered the building. The last thing he saw was Sergeant Carne's ship cruising in the skies. Carne was being trailed by an Aparoid, as Carne was trailing an Aparoid himself. However, neither Carne nor the Aparoid fired a single shot.

Fox entered the dimly lit atrium of the settlement headquarters. Pale light flowed in from the windows to illuminate the dusty floor panels of the first floor. Once again consulting Peppy's map, Fox took a left down a darkened hallway that sloped downwards into the heart of the base.

After a while of walking down, Fox entered another large room. This time, there were three doors, each one on a different one of the four walls that encompassed the room. He walked to the closet door and opened it. Behind it was a ladder that led up a long way. The sound of desert winds whistled down the shaft.

"Okay," Fox mumbled, "the Governor's not up there."

Fox turned to the next closest door and peered inside to see a most peculiar sight. The floor was littered with parts of machinery. Some were painted a purple hue, others had a bluish taint to them. Some of the parts resembled wings, insect legs, or pointed heads.

Fox exited the room feeling a bit puzzled. He shook off the feeling and strode to the final door. There was a brass nameplate on the door. It read 'Governor Ziegler.'

As Fox entered the room with a triumphant grin on his face, he said, "Governor, its time to-."

Fox went silent as he surveyed the room. There was a table and a lone flood light that shined on the surface of the table in the center of the room. On the table was what looked to be a tape recorder. Most importantly, there was no sign of the Governor or any other human life in the room.

Fox walked to the table and picked up the tape recorder. There was a tape inside. "Why not?" Fox asked himself as he pushed the play button.

The voice that emanated from machine was the voice of the man Fox least wanted to hear: Kain.

"Hello, Fox. I see you have made it to the underground levels of the Titania settlement. Unfortunately for you, you won't be leaving."

A series of explosions rocked the building. Fox began to run from the room. Kain's voice stopped him.

"Stay right there, Fox. You will not want to miss what I have to say." Fox turned around.

"You have stood in my way long enough. You and your ragtag team will not be a concern of mine any more."

Fox shook with anger.

"It is time for you to follow the path of your father, Fox. To 'die for Corneria'." Kain laughed. "The only difference is the Corneria your father died for is not the same as it is today. This is my Corneria."

Kain paused as he drew another evil laugh. "And soon, with the help of that vixen, the Lylat System will be mine!"

At the mention of Krystal, Fox threw the tape recorder at the wall and sprinted out of the room. He ran to the sloping hallway from which he had originally entered.

"NO!" Fox yelled. The explosions he had heard were charges going off in the hallway. They had blown chunks of rocks into the path and blocked it. It was impassable.

Fox ran to the different doors of the room. He opened the door with the parts of machinery. Fox froze in his tracks. He stared at the pieces of machinery and then noticed a workbench in the back of the room. Fox glared at the insect-legs of metal and it dawned on him. "Aparoids! KAIN!"

Fox didn't stop to think any further. Rage was fueling him now. He ran to the last door and ripped it open. With a grunt of relief, he noticed that the ladder was not blocked with rocks. Fox jumped and cleared several rungs in one bound.

He began to climb as fast as he could. At the same time, his head was spinning. He could not think straight. All he could do was climb.

Fox looked up to see how far he had left to climb. He spotted a black box attached to the wall of the shaft. An explosive charge. It was covered with sand. Some of the sand particles and gotten inside and disabled the bomb, allowing Fox to escape the desert prison.

Fox climbed the final rungs and emerged out onto the roof of the 11 story building. Sand whipped into his face as the sandstorm reached its peak. Fox scanned the skies for his team. However, saw nothing. No Arwings or Aparoids. The sandstorm was too heavy.

"Team! Come in! This is an emergency!" Fox yelled through his wrist communicator.

The voice that replied was none other than the leader of Star Wolf. "Oh, I bet it is, pup."

"WOLF! WHERE ARE YOU?" Fox screamed over the sandstorm, refusing to play games with Wolf.

The silhouette of a Wolfen roared past Fox. "Your team might be a little busy right now," Wolf said. As soon as he finished, Slippy's Arwing burst through the wall of the sandstorm. His ship was on fire. As Slippy tried to regain a level flight, Panther emerged from the storm and blasted Slippy with several laser shots. Slippy crashed nose-first into the sand.

Falco then came barreling straight down, smoke coming from his G-diffuser. Leon followed him, launching salvo after salvo of lasers. Falco, meters from the ground, finally started to pull up. A pair of lasers connected to the top of his Arwing and pushed him down. Falco crashed into a sand dune.

"WOLF!" Fox cried. "What have you done!?"

"It's just like I told you, Fox," Wolf said. "I got an offer from that dog that I couldn't refuse. I didn't hesitate. I acted."

The sandstorm abnormally calmed to reveal the Star Wolf team in formation. Their Wolfen's formed a horizontal line, in which Wolf was the center. The line of thugs flew straight.

Directly in their line of flight a ways away was Krystal's Arwing. She, however, had different problems.

"FOX!" Krystal cried through the radio, "IT'S CARNE! HE'S BETRAYED US!"

Fox looked behind Krystal to see Carne's ship adamantly trailing Krystal. Carne was not firing, but a long pole protruded from the front of his ship. At the end of the pole was a black sphere that crackled with electric blue sparks.

Fox had seen one of those in Slippy's garage. "Krystal, that's an EMP transmitter! It'll disable the electronics on your Arwing! MOVE!"

The Star Wolf line rocketed towards Krystal. They were closing fast. Krystal was lined up perfectly with Wolf's ship. When they were only meters from colliding, this time it was Krystal who flinched. She jolted upwards and successfully evaded Wolf's ship.

However, when Krystal jerked her Arwing up, she had connected with Carne's EMP transmitter. Her engines sputtered for a moment and went dead. Krystal plunged towards the surface of Titania.

Then, the Star Wolf team sped towards the helpless Krystal. They eased under her and began to pull her up, using the combined force of the three Wolfen to control her. Krystal was along for the ride.

Carne's sinister voice rumbled through the radio. "You're not supposed to be alive. No matter."

Carne's ship sped towards Star Wolf who had Krystal perched on top of their ships. "I will just be taking this back to the General. I hope you don't mind."

"NO! KRYSTAL!" Fox screamed. It was no good. The EMP had broken the radio.

As the Star Wolf team hovered in the air above, preparing for a jump, Fox searched for a means of saving Krystal. His Landmaster could only hover a few meters off of the ground, and Peppy was prohibited from entering Titania because of the sandstorm.

Fox stood on top of the building, helpless, as was Krystal. Then, Fox felt something he had only felt before on Sauria. Krystal was communicating with him telepathically.

"Fox," Krystal said. "Fox, I know you can hear me, but you can't answer back. Please, just listen. Carne is taking me back to Corneria, back to Kain. I don't know what is going to happen, but I need your help. Please, Fox help me. I need you…" Krystal's voice trailed off as Star Wolf and Carne sped off and out of sight.

Fox stood on top of the massive building in the middle of a Titania sandstorm. He watched Krystal fade away. The thing that hurt Fox the most was that he could not do anything. He had to let Krystal fly away from him.

And for only the second time in Fox's life, a tear ran from Fox's eye and down the side of his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Capital Deceit

Lieutenant-Colonel Jerevicious Kain ambled down the flights of stairs that led to the lower levels of the Cornerian Flight Academy, located down the street from City Hall. Being a Saturday, the Academy was closed to students and no classes were being held. Kain strolled down a metallic hallway and entered an elevator. He pushed the button 'Sublevel 16.'

The elevator rumbled down at an alarming speed. It sped down as floors ticked off the counter. The light coming in from passing windows dimmed as the elevator became deeply entrenched in the ground. Finally, after about five minutes of riding, the elevator grinded to a stop and Kain stepped out and into the sublevels of the Academy.

Kain casually strode down a hallway that was hewn from solid rock. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all brick-red, rough, and they sported the marks of recent excavation.

Kain walked through the shoddy hallway and emerged into a massive chamber. The chamber was easily hundreds of meters tall, although it was still underground. Torches lined the walls of the chamber, spreading inadequate lighting throughout the great hall.

However, this room was not dark. The majority of the light in the chamber came from the unearthly structure in the middle of the room. About half as tall as the chamber itself, the golden-encrusted monolith pulsed with a cool blue light.

A large cylindrical type structure extended vertically into the air. Inside the giant silo, light blue gas aimlessly wafted. Golden bands wrapped around the translucent tube. There were indiscernible inscriptions on the bands as they wrapped around the cylinder in a helix.

The base protruded about twenty meters to extend out into the platform floor that only lasted another ten meters. Small bridges connected the center platform from the hallway that led to the exit.

Despite the natural ambience of awe that this monolith showcased, Kain was unabashed. He had seen it before. Many times before, and he knew what it could do.

Kain walked across one of the spindly bridges and to the protrusion that extended outwards. On the floor, a golden circle had been branded. It also wore the same inscriptions that were on the bands encircling the massive cylinder.

Kain strode over to a nearby control panel that apparently controlled this 'station' of sorts. He pushed a few buttons, and an arm extended from the cylinder. It stretched to be directly over the golden circle and several meters above it. Kain stepped onto the circle, inspecting the strange contraption. However, it was not strange to him.

A low rumble filled the great chamber. The gas in the monolith stirred. "Ah," Kain said. "They're here."

The rumbling of the elevator stopped and was replaced by a series of metallic clanks. Boots on rock. Kain looked towards the hallway from which he entered and saw his assistant, Sergeant Carne, cradling a limp Krystal in his arms.

Carne walked to the Lieutenant-Colonel and placed his captive gently on the cold stone floor. She was unconscious.

"How much of the sedative did you give her?" Kain asked.

"300 ccs," Carne answered.

"I told you 50 cc's was enough," Kain reminded, slightly perturbed.

Carne had an annoyed expression on his face. "She kept trying to read my mind." Carne tapped his temple.

"No matter," Kain said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a hypodermic needle that was filled with a clear liquid. Kain bent low and injected the liquid into Krystal's arm.

The antidote to the sedative worked quickly, reviving Krystal into a conscious state within a minute. She began to stir. Kain motioned to Carne and the pit bull reached down and picked up the vixen by her delicate arms. Carne positioned Krystal so that she was facing Kain.

"Wake up, beautiful," Kain mockingly said. Krystal's head bobbed as her eyes fluttered, trying to recover from the strong amounts of sedative.

"Can you hear me?" Kain asked.

Krystal's head moved slowly upwards. She leveled her head under her own power and stared Kain straight in the eye, although Krystal's were still slightly glazed over.

"I know you can hear me, so listen up." Kain placed his palm under Krystal's chin to keep her head at the same plane as his.

Then, unexpectedly, Krystal spoke. "Why should I listen to anything you have to say?" It took Krystal a great deal of energy to speak. He muscles ached from actions she had no recollection of.

"Oh, I think the information I possess will prove quite momentous to you." Kain grinned. He took a step back and turned to face the monstrosity of metal in the center of the chamber.

"I need something from you," Kain said. "Something powerful. Something that you…and only you can give me."

More alert of her surroundings now, Krystal retorted, "The only thing I would ever even think of giving you is a never-ending sentence in a prison cell."

Kain laughed in his mocking way. "Oh my dear, I am afraid it is not up to you. It is up to me. And I have already made up my mind."

"When Fox gets here, nothing will be up to you," Krystal growled.

"Fox won't be joining us for quite some time," Kain corrected.

Carne shifted uncomfortably. "Uh…sir?" Carne interjected, "The fox somehow made it out of the settlement headquarters. I saw him on the roof."

Kain fell silent. He did not move a muscle for several moments. Carne was braced for a verbal assault, but got off easy.

"Fear not, Sergeant. My Aparoids will more than deal with him," Kain said.

Carne sighed, still restraining Krystal, whose eyes were wide with a mixture of emotions.

"**Your** Aparoids?!" she said, bewildered.

Kain laughed as turned back around to face Krystal again with a look of surprise on his face. "You mean to say that you don't know yet? You haven't figured it out? Did you ever wonder how the Aparoids came back? How they managed to escape the self-destruct program?" Kain snorted in disbelief. "Think back to the first time you faced these new Aparoids. Were you ever shot at? Or with Star Wolf? Did you seriously believe that someone as despicable as you would be able to scare off someone along the likes of Wolf O'Donnell? Or were you just content to believe that you were somehow becoming an expert pilot?" Kain finished with a scornful smile.

Krystal was overwhelmed. She did not know what to think anymore. At first, Krystal had shrugged off the ideas of these new Aparoids and Wolf, but now that Kain had so blatantly told her, she realized their validity.

"I created those mock-up Aparoids for one purpose: to destroy everyone on the Star Fox team save you," Kain continued. "When I heard that you had escaped the Aparoid King, I called Wolf O'Donnell, my close friend. We trained here at the Academy together, you know," Kain added casually, seriously underestimating the graveness of the situation.

Krystal's anger had near peaked. She wanted so bad to claw at Kain. To make him suffer as much as he was making her and as much as he had undoubtedly caused her team. Krystal struggled against Carne's grip, which was like a vice. Her eyes were like fire.

Kain took notice. He had been waiting for this moment. His plan depended on it.

"Yes, that's it! Get angry. Release your power. You know you want to. Just let go."

This sudden macabre encouragement prompted Krystal to do the opposite and try to control her temper. She looked at the floor and tried to regulate her breathing to calm herself down.

"Sergeant," Kain commanded, "release her." Carne looked at Kain in disbelief. Kain nodded back. Carne released his hold on Krystal.

Even though she was trying to control her anger, as soon as her feet touched the clammy floor, Krystal sprinted towards Kain. Krystal, her staff being stowed on the Great Fox, reared her right arm back. She swung her fist in a hook at Kain's face.

Kain, however, knew what he was doing and caught Krystal's arm in midair. He pulled her closer to him and clasped his free hand around her throat. Kain picked Krystal off the ground a meter by her throat in a choke hold.

"Fine, then," Kain snarled. "Keep your powers pent up. Then, when your precious Fox gets here, you can watch him die."

This sent Krystal over the edge. She screamed in anger, even through Kain's grip on her throat. Krystal became enraged to the point where she was blind with fury. Krystal did not know what to do but scream.

Her rage was so intense that her powers manifested itself in a blue light around her body. The light traveled around her body and up Kain's arm. It continued around Kain's body as well. The light reached the canine's military hat and illuminated a gem that had been deliberately placed there for this exact reason.

Kain laughed triumphantly. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "Now it is almost done!"

Kain, still holding Krystal a meter above the ground in a choke hold, walked over to the two golden circles that he had set up previously.

"Tell me how it feels," Kain roared over Krystal's scream, "to be the cause of the death of a galaxy?"

Krystal choked for a moment, trying to find the strength to speak. "Not nearly as horrible as your demise will feel." Krystal stared defiantly into Kain's eyes.

Kain tossed Krystal onto the golden circle on the floor, where she lay, helpless. Kain strode over to the control panel and pushed a few buttons. The gas in the cylinder began to swirl rapidly, spraying out of the circle suspended in the air. The gas filled the area around the concentric circles, obscuring vision.

A few moments later, the smoke cleared. Kain smiled as he saw his plan was a success. Krystal was encased within a giant gem, much like the one she was trapped in when she tried to save Sauria.

Fox sprinted to the medical bay of the Great Fox. He ran through sliding door after sliding door until her arrived at the doors with the Red Cross sloppily stenciled on.

Fox pushed the doors open and walked inside. Pale, bright light caused him to rub his eyes to accommodate to the illumination. Fox looked over the room to see two patients laying on separate gurneys. Both were downed members of Star Fox in the recent Titania campaign.

Falco wore a cast around his left arm and had bruises all over his body. Slippy had a cast on his left leg and wore a heavy neck brace. Neither was particularly glad to see him, due to their gruesome conditions. They were, however, conscious and moving.

"Are you two alright?" Fox asked. He cared for the condition of his two friends, but to tell the truth, his mind was far off with Krystal.

"I think so," Slippy said through a grimace. Falco said nothing. He stared at the wall of the room. Fox knew better than to bother Falco at his most temperamental of moments.

"I need to get to Corneria," Fox explained to Falco and Slippy. "Carne has taken Krystal, presumably, to Kain."

"We know," Slippy dejectedly said.

"Let's go then," Fox said as he began to walk from the room.

"Fox," Falco said as he stood. "As much as I hate to admit it, Slippy and I can't fight. We're all done. And you can't beat Carne by yourself. Let alone Kain. Who knows what kind of army he has down there?"

"Then what do you want me to do? Leave Krystal there!?" Fox retorted.

"Fox," Falco said, as if it caused him great pain to say so, "You………you can't win."

Fox stared in disbelief at Falco's sudden lack of faith. Fox shook his head slightly and turned to leave the room. Just as the doors were about to close, Fox turned around to face the two patients.

"For Krystal, I can do anything."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Muerto Perro

Fox stood at the unloading dock of the Great Fox, his team standing around him. Although out of active duty, they still wanted to support Fox's efforts, no matter how futile they regarded them to be.

"Five minutes to Corneria City," Peppy informed him.

Fox rechecked his supplies. He had brought his trusty blaster, a machine gun, a sniper rifle, and a few sensor bombs. Fox didn't plan on using the bombs because the streets of Corneria were likely to be crowded with people. Fox wasn't here to kill unnecessary civilians. He was here to save Krystal, but if death was necessary…

"Two minutes to Corneria City."

Fox's face was set with determination. He was adamant about Krystal rescue. Fox would save her at any cost. Any cost.

Fox glanced back at his comrades. They wore expressions of sorrow and defeat. It was as if they had given up already. Fox had never seen this from them before.

"Entering Corneria City," Peppy announced.

The unloading bay door dropped, as swift winds whipped around at Fox, Falco, and Slippy. The two injured members of Star Fox strafed to the hull of the Great Fox for support. Their injuries were so sever that they had trouble keeping their balance in the winds.

Fox looked back at his team on last time. "I'll get Krystal," he promised as he jumped from the Great Fox.

Fox freefell from the Great Fox for some time. The winds ripped at his fur and stung his eyes, causing them to water. For some time, this kept up, but Fox did not whimper.

Fox waited until he cleared the layer of clouds that were obstructing his view until he pulled the zip cord that released his parachute. The large billowing sheet of cloth expanded from Fox's backpack and soared up into the sky, catching air.

Fox recoiled from the impact of the expanding parachute, but quickly recovered. He glided towards on of the nearest buildings, which conveniently happened to be on of the tallest ones in Corneria City. Fox aimed for a helipad on the roof of the building.

Fox landed with a roll to lessen the impact. He stood up and shook off the disorientation of rapid descent.

"I'm on top of the hospital, I think," Fox said into his wrist communicator.

"There should be a fire-escape ladder on the side of the hospital," Peppy said through the radio. "You can use it to get down to the street quickly."

Fox scanned the edges of the roof. He spotted the top of a black metal ladder and strode over to it.

Fox placed his feet on the top rungs and slowly began climbing down from the skyscraper. After a half minute of climbing, Fox glanced down to see how much further he had to go. The sight of being hundreds of meters up told him that at this pace, he would never get down to the street.

Fox positioned himself and began to recklessly slide down the ladder. He passed several floors in under a second as he picked up even more speed.

Only fifty meters from the ground, Fox forcefully pressed his boots and gloved hands against the sides of the ladder. With all of Fox's strength, he gradually slowed to a stop, meters before the street.

Fox brushed himself off and turned to face the road. He expected a bustling metropolis filled with raucous crowds that were blissfully unaware of Krystal's plight. At the very least, Fox anticipated cars speeding along the roads of Corneria City.

What Fox saw on the streets of Corneria was nothing. There were no crowds, no cars, and no buses. There were no people walking the streets. There were no cars speeding down the highways. Corneria had become a ghost town.

"Peppy, where is everyone?" Fox asked.

"I don't know, but there's got to be some reason for their absence. Maybe the energy readings coming from the Academy have something to do with it."

"If it involves saving Krystal, I'm all for it," Fox said as he checked the street sign to his left. It read 'Main Street.'

"Okay, Peppy, you said there are energy readings coming from the Flight Academy?"

"Yes," Peppy confirmed. "Consult your map to-."

"I don't need a map. I grew up in Corneria. I know it like the back of my hand," Fox said. He pulled out his blaster and cautiously ran down Main Street to the gold building with sculpture of a pair of wings atop it.

Fox sprinted along what should have been the busiest street in all of Corneria City. He looked to the heavy steel doors that led to the interior of the Flight Academy. There was a silhouette in front of the doors. It was big. Bigger than Fox. Bigger than Falco…

Fox instantly recognized the figure. He slowed to a steady canter, keeping his blaster at the ready.

Now in plain sight of each other, the figure spoke in a low rumble. "I am glad you survived. Now I have the pleasure of killing you myself."

Fox, once again became extremely enraged. "This is no time for games, Carne. I'm here to save Krystal."

"The General has already taken her. And she cannot be saved." Carne primed a grenade and tossed it down the stairs of the Academy.

Fox rolled to the right and behind a small wall. The grenade detonated and its explosion decimated the lower steps of the Academy's staircase.

Fox peeked over the wall and fired his blaster at Carne. Most of the shots missed, but one or two connected. They did little to hurt him, although they did char his uniform a bit.

"Is that it?" Carne bellowed. "You're going to have to try harder to save her."

Fox growled at Carne's use of Krystal's name. He charged his blaster and ran out behind the wall and across the stairs. Fox released the trigger and the charged shot raced towards Carne. It connected to the center of Carne's chest.

The projectile forced Carne back. He slammed into the doors of the Academy and struggled to regain his breath.

Carne roared with anger. He brandished a homing launcher and began to fire at any destructible object. Pieces of rock and marble flew into the air.

Fox dodged an incoming piece of rock and hid behind a wall that was being pummeled by Carne. Knowing that the wall would fail soon, Fox sprinted to the back of a nearby building.

Carne targeted Fox as he ran and locked on to him. He fired and the homing missile followed Fox. The missile tracked Fox as he turned and twisted to try to shake off the projectile.

Just as the missile was about to hit him, Fox turned sharply and hid behind the building that he originally intended to.

The rocket impacted on the side of the building. The explosion blew away the edge of the building. However, the detonation was so sever that its force hurled Fox several meters away.

Fox slowly rose to his feet and shook off a sharp pain in his left arm, the arm he had landed on. He heard Carne descending the marble steps of the Academy.

"Foxie, are you alright?" Carne mocked. "It would be a shame if you left your girlfriend all alone to die!" Carne was walking very slowly. His cautiousness was due to Fox's charged shot. It messed with Carne's head and forced him to survey his every move.

This worked to the disadvantage of Fox. He could not make any more surprise moves. He had to think of another plan.

Fox fired a trio of blaster shots to keep Carne guessing and to keep him out of sight. He ripped a piece of his shirt off and threw it to the ground. Fox deftly sprinted to the nearest building and repeated the process.

Carne advanced to the back of the building and surveyed the piece of clothing. Still cautious, he moved to the next nearest building and spied another piece of Fox's shirt. His curiosity peaked. "Heh, a trail too easy to follow," Carne said as he checked around the corner.

Carne moved again to the next structure where he found yet another piece of Fox's shirt. Carne became over confident, sensing that Fox had slipped up.

The massive canine looked toward the street. He spotted the glint of light reflect off of a silver jacket in the middle of the road. It was Fox's jacket.

"What is this Fox up to?" Carne asked himself as he walked over a stretch of grass that separated the cement of the building from the street.

Carne walked over the grass. It made a soft crunching sound. However, his next footstep was complimented by a metallic clank. It sounded like a boot hitting a piece of metal.

Carne lifted his foot and looked where it had been. In the ground was a metal semi-circle with a red tip. The tip pulse slightly. Carne looked around him. Encircling his position were several of these things. They all began to pulse at the tip, blinking lightly.

The trapped dog looked to the street where the jacket had been. Now, there was a fox inside it. The same fox that had planted these bombs.

"Sensor bombs, Carne," Fox said casually. "Don't move or they'll explode."

"Let me out RIGHT NOW!" Carne barked.

Fox became serious. "You are in no position to demand anything. But if you answer my questions, I'll let you go." Carne scowled at Fox.

"Good boy," Fox mocked him. Fox became serious once again. "Where is Kain keeping Krystal?"

Carne hesitated for a moment. He glanced at the bombs and finally answered, as if greatly pained. "Sublevel 16."

"And where are all the people in Corneria City?" Fox asked as a follow-up.

Somehow, Carne had the audacity to laugh at Fox. "Find Krystal. You'll see. And then you'll die."

Fox nodded and began to walk towards the doors of the Cornerian Flight Academy.

"Hey! You said you would let me go!" Carne yelled after him.

Fox looked back at the helpless canine. "Just remember. If you move, you die." Carne was horrified.

Fox climbed the scarred steps of the Academy. When he got to the top, Fox pushed the heavy steel doors apart.

As Fox walked inside the Academy, he heard a loud, desperate howl, followed by a series of explosions.

"One down, one to go," Fox said as he walked deeper in the Academy.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – The Reason

Fox hit the button on the elevator labeled 'Sublevel 16.' The machine rumbled down the many floors below the Academy. The light became scarce, just as it had for its previous occupant.

The Cornerian Flight Academy had not changed very much since Fox's last visit, which happened to be his graduation. The classrooms were still the same, and the dorms were left virtually untouched. These lower levels, however, Fox had never seen.

Fox did not have the time to revisit the halls of his alma mater. As soon as Fox disposed with Carne, he had immediately entered the Academy and was now riding the elevator down to the sublevels of the military institute.

After several minutes of extremely tense riding, the elevator pinged, and the doors opened. Fox walked out of the elevator and into the rock hallway.

Fox's mind raced. He knew that he was close to Krystal. Fox was still nervous, however, and he would continue to be unless he could cave Krystal.

Fox walked through the stone hallway as he scanned the path for traps. He was not about to fall for the same trick he played on Carne. He stooped low and searched for anomalies in the surface of the rock.

Finding none, Fox crept through the tunnel and finally emerged on the other side. He instantaneously froze when he caught sight of the giant structure in the middle of the great chamber.

Fox was awestruck by the monolith. The giant cylinder in the middle rotated clockwise slowly, while the blue gas inside swirled counterclockwise. There was a solid blue beam erupting from the top of the silo. It had bored a hole through the solid rock. The beam looked as if it reached all the way to the surface of Corneria City.

And the, at the base of the structure, Fox saw her. Krystal was trapped inside the gem. The jewel floated, suspended in air by the two golden circles. She was in a sleep-like state.

"Krystal!" Fox yelled in joy. He raced down the ramp and over one of the rickety stone bridges, not bothering to scan the area before entering. Fox was too preoccupied with Krystal's safety.

Fox stood before Krystal's personal prison. One of Krystal's hands was pressed against the glass of the gem in a last effort to get out. Fox placed his hand opposite her's on the other side of the glass.

"It's wondrous, you know," came a voice from behind. Fox whirled around to see Jerevicious Kain standing at the entrance way of the great chamber.

"That mad monkey certainly was on to something," Kain continued casually. He stared intently at the beam coming out of the top.

"What have you done to the people of Corneria?" Fox growled.

Kain faked surprise. "I haven't done anything to them. The citizens of Corneria are currently taking over the Lylat System, planet after planet."

Fox looked disgusted. "Why would they ever fight for you?"

"Oh, it's not up to them."

"What do you mean?"

Kain's eyes shifted to the gargantuan machine behind Fox. He began to walk forward, slowly. "What do you know about Andross?"

Fox winced at the name. "I know enough to beat him."

"My boy," Kain said. "You know nothing."

Kain stopped right before the bridge.

"Have you ever wondered why Andross was banished? Why he was exiled and why he turned on Corneria and all of Lylat?"

Fox remembered all the horror and chaos that Andross had caused over the years before his death. "Andross was a madman," Fox said.

"No," Kain said. His face twisted into such a sinister face that it would have sent Satan running. "He was brilliant.

"Look at that creation," Kain said as he gestured towards the monolith of iron and gas.

Fox grew impatient. "What does this thing have to do with anything?"

"Have you been listening to anything I have said?" Kain asked. "This machine is the reason for the citizens of Corneria's absence. It is the reason why Andross was banished from Corneria. And with the 'help' of this telepath's powers," Kain pointed to Krystal, "this machine is the reason why everyone in the Lylat System will soon be under mind control. MY control!"

Fox looked back at the machine. This was the source of Andross's malice. It was the cause of Corneria's emptiness. This machine was the reason for every cruel thing that had ever happened in the Lylat system since Andross's exile.

Fox turned around to say something to Kain but could not. In the midst of Fox's contemplation, the Lieutenant-Colonel had sprinted at Fox. Now, the dog lowered his shoulder and charged straight into his chest. The impact forced Fox to be hurtled several meters back. He slammed into the side of the machine.

Fox was stunned by this surprise attack. Nevertheless, he pulled out his blaster and fired a multitude of lasers at his now stationary attacker. A few shots went astray and kicked up dust around Kain. Fox fired a charged shot and stopped to prevent his blaster from overheating.

Fox panted as he struggled to regain his breath. He peered through the dust, trying to spot Kain.

The haze cleared, and Fox looked to the ground to spot Kain's body. The canine's body was present, but it was upright, and in the same position as before. Kain's uniform was neither charred, scratched, nor even ruffled! Fox's attacks had done nothing.

"What!?" Fox said, perplexed.

Kain laughed as he mocked Fox. "I forgot to mention the other thing your girlfriend gave me before I threw her in there," Kain glanced at Krystal's prison. He then removed his military cap and tapped the glowing gem that was stitched into the fabric. It was the same gem that had lit up when Krystal's powers had first touched it.

"This gem trapped her powers. She gave me her powers as protection."

Fox scowled. "First off," Fox growled, "Krystal would never give you anything. And no matter what you have, nothing can protect you from Star Fox!"

Fox charged at Kain. His feet churned and moved him to Kain in under two seconds. Kain, however, did not move. Fox lowered his shoulder in the same fashion as Kain had done to him.

The result, however, was not the same. As Fox came within centimeters of Kain's chest, he collided with a shimmering blue-white shield, the color of which was very similar to that of Krystal's fur. Fox fell to the ground from the collision.

Fox stared up in disbelief. Kain was right. He couldn't damage him. But he had to try. For Lylat. For Corneria. For Krystal…

Fox scrambled to his feet and retreated back across the stone platform. He pulled out his sniper rifle and aimed at Kain's hat. More specifically, the gem within the hat.

"I am telling you: That will not work!" Kain informed Fox.

Brazenly, Fox fired. The beam shot forth from the barrel and streaked towards Kain, who remained motionless.

The beam connected with the shield. It failed to penetrate the safeguard, even at its weakest point. The beam deflected straight back at Fox.

With only seconds to spare, Fox ditched the sniper rifle and dove to the left to avoid his own attack. The ray of energy collided with the sniper rifle that still hung in midair. The superheated laser instantly melted the barrel of the weapon, rendering it useless.

Down to only his blaster and his machine gun, Fox began to believe Kain's claim to indestructibility. His blaster proved ineffective and for his machine gun to be accurate, Fox would have to move in close. Against Kain, that was not an option if Fox planned to succeed.

Fox, desperate for himself but more so for Krystal, racked his brain for a plan. Fox glanced at the hallway that led to the upper levels of the Flight Academy, and then back at Kain, who stared back at him, waiting for him to make a move. "It just might work…," Fox said to himself.

Fox took off. He sprinted towards the hallway leading up the Academy. Kain noticed this and ran, taking an angle that would cut Fox off before he got the hallway.

The two sprinted at full speed, not giving an inch. They both had one intent: getting there before the other. And that was going to happen to one of them.

Even though Fox was the faster of the two, Kain got to the hallway a split second before him. Fox, still running at full speed, could not stop. Kain lowered his shoulder again, anticipating a ramming attempt.

Fox, however, would not fall for that again. Baseball style, Fox slid between Kain's legs, popped up, and continued full speed down the hallway. Kain stood for a moment, stunned.

Fox entered the elevator, but deliberately held the door for a moment until he saw Kain coming up the corridor. As the doors closed, Fox baited Kain to follow him upstairs.

"Going up?" Fox rhetorically asked, as the doors closed with a click.

Kain reached the elevator just as the doors closed. Fox rode the elevator all the way up, as a series of thuds reverberated from the lower levels. Kain was banging on the elevator doors. He was mad. He was coming up. Fox smiled.

The elevator doors opened and out galloped Fox. He had precious time to enact his plan, so every moment was crucial. Fox reentered the main and atrium and took a left.

From the best of Fox's memory, he tried to navigate the path to the hangar. The last time Fox had been within these walls, he had never even heard of Andross. Fox prayed that no major renovations had taken place to block his path.

As Fox ran, he heard footsteps. Although far off, they were not his own. These footfalls were accompanied by pugnacious grunts and vicious snarls.

"Good," Fox thought. "He's coming."

Fox sped through a corridor of his old classes. They were empty now. Kain had forced them to fight under mind control. The desks had been unceremoniously turned over and scattered, as if a great struggle took place.

The footfalls of Kain were getting heavier at this point. Fox noticed he was slowing down as he was reminiscing about his time in the Academy.

Fox raced around a corner and came to a junction of four hallways. He froze.

"I don't remember this," Fox said aloud. "They must have added this after I left!"

Fox drew a blank. He had no recollection of this place. What Fox needed to do was to make it to the hangar. The only problem was that he didn't know where it was.

No. It wasn't the only problem. There was another one, and it was big, it was angry, and it was running after him.

A breeze swept into Fox from the left. He looked down the corresponding path.

"That wind!" he said. "There could only be a breeze if that path led to an opening!"

Fox sprinted down the windy tunnel, leaving his confusion behind. And not a moment too late, for Kain had just turned to corner to the junction of hallways. He, however, did not stop to think. He turned left to the hangar, just as Fox luckily had done.

Kain continued to pound the marble floor with his boots as he sped after the fleeing Fox, who he could now see in plain sight.

"No one disrespects me like that!" Kain barked, referring to the incident downstairs. "I am the new ruler of the Lylat System, Emperor Kain!"

Fox did his best to ignore the insolent dog. He turned one final corner and emerged into the glistening steel hangar of the Cornerian Flight Academy.

Usually, the hangar would have been lined with numerous Arwings, thousands of standard class Cornerian ships, a few dropships, and, on occasion, one or two battleships.

However, since Kain had forced all of Corneria to war, only a handful of ships remained. There was an Arwing with no engines, a dropship that was split in half, and a personal transport vehicle with no cockpit. Diffused around the entire hanger were piles of scrap metal tens of meters tall.

Fox dashed into the hangar and froze. He had not thought of this. Fox had expected an Arwing in perfect condition to be working for him, as it always was. Fox had expected a lot of things to happen on this mission that had not been so. It was time for Fox to start making things happen, instead of expecting them to happen.

Fox ran throughout the hangar, searching for a serviceable ship. He pushed the scraps of metal aside as the grunts and guttural barks of Kain grew stronger.

As Fox tossed aside a piece of metal, Kain appeared at the door of the hangar. Fox stood in the middle of the hangar bay as Kain moved to a control panel next to the door.

"You're trapped, Fox," Kain said as he pushed a button. The heavy steel door locked behind him to seal off any escape, save that of flying a ship out into the sky.

"You've made your last mistake. This is the end," Kain solemnly stated as he pushed another button on the panel. This time, the center of the hangar dropped away slowly. Fox jumped off just in time to grab the edge of the floor. He pulled himself up.

"I have Corneria. I have Lylat. And I have Krystal." Kain pushed a final button.

The platform that had dropped before now rose up. It ascended slower, for it was carrying a heavier load. The platform locked back into place, level with the floor of the hangar.

In the center of the hangar was what looked like General Pepper's flagship. The chassis of the sip, in fact, was from the General's ship. However, this ship had four anti-grav blades, very similar to those that were on the Wolfen.

"O'Donnell gave me a few upgrades on my flagship. I hope you don't mind," Kain mocked.

Fox scowled at the dog, as he shifted his eyes around the hangar. Still searching for a flyable ship, Fox refused to give up.

Then, Fox saw it: a rounded point of the nose of a ship. It was buried within a large pile of scrap metal. Fox mistook it for junk, so he had overlooked it before.

Fox ran to the pile and cleared away the pieces of dross around the nose of the ship. It was scarred and rusty, but intact. He cleared the ship of all scraps surrounding it.

The ship was old. It had rust all over, the glass of the cockpit was cracked and smeared, and deep gouges in the hull of the ship ran from wing to wing.

It was not an Arwing, the new-age ship of the Lylat System. It was the classic, the first, the original. It was the same type of ship that the legendary James McCloud had flown. This ship was an Aerowing.

Fox slipped over the crest of a building as he sped out of the Cornerian Flight Academy's hangar. The Aerowing he flew moaned against the G-forces placed upon it. Fox had only hit the thrusters once. The older models of these ships used a single thrust propulsion system that wasted fuel very inefficiently.

Kain, in his enormous flagship, tailed Fox from behind. "How do you expect to defeat the Emperor in that outdated piece of scrap?" he spoke through the radio. "Not even your father could destroy Andross in that thing."

"This isn't about Andross or my father. This is about what you have done to Corneria and Krystal!" Fox yelled through the comm.

"Wrong," Kain corrected him. "This is about what I am going to do to you." Kain sent lasers streaming towards Fox's patchwork ship. The beams of energy connected with the Aerowing's hull and sent the tiny ship into an intense roll.

Fox grunted as he wrestled with the controls of the unresponsive ship. He finally righted the vessel, still fighting the stagnant controls. He turned to face Kain and pulled the trigger that was connected to the firing mechanism of the lasers.

They misfired. An audible whirrrrr bellowed from the bottom of the ship as the lasers failed to gather enough energy. Nothing came out of the laser chambers.

Kain laughed yet again. "Such a shame, it is that the sweet vixen will have to die because of your stupidity."

Fox became enraged. "Krystal will not die! I'm going to save her!" Fox punched the thrusters and sped away from the monstrous flagship. Kain followed closely, blasting away with his lasers.

Fox slipped between two skyscrapers while chunks of metal blasted off from the surrounding buildings due to Kain's lasers. Fox tried a loop, but the Aerowing's outdated technology did not allow it. The hull groaned as gravity threatened to break it apart.

Fox pulled out of the loop and straightened in the air. Kain, however, continued to pummel Fox with his lasers. The Aerowing shuddered from the force of the blasts.

Kain's attacks were causing a lot of damage. Too much damage. Miraculously, the antique Aerowing held together.

Fox needed to do something. If he kept, Fox would become a relic, just like the machine he was flying.

Fox spotted a low office building and raced towards it, all the while being shot at by Kain's flagship. The Aerowing's staccato engines fired periodically, propelling him towards the building. Kain tailed Fox intently. Yet again, the Aerowing amazingly stood up to the assault of Kain's flagship.

Fox was meters away from the top of the building when he punched the thrusters once. Utilizing the brute force of the Aerowing's single propulsion system, the thrust acted as an emergency boost, pushing Fox up. He cleared the building after coming at it at almost a 70 degree angle.

Kain continued to fire as he tailed Fox. Preoccupied with his prey, Kain did not notice that building Fox was headed for. Seeing his peril, Kain swerved up at the last second. The bottom two anti-grav blades of his flagship smashed off the side of the building, causing them to break off.

Now with only two anti-grav blades supporting the oversized ship, the agility of Kain's ship was severely hampered.

Kain was dumbstruck. "How…my ship…you can't…" Kain roared into the radio. To sake his anger, he resumed firing at Fox, which remained the only difference between the two ships.

Fox angled around a skyscraper and aimed at the momentarily crippled Kain. He fired his lasers again. They jammed. Again.

Kain, almost as mad as Fox, roared over the comm. "Even with half a ship, you can't beat me! I'll take that vixen and skin her alive when I'm done with you!"

Fox snarled. "That is it! You're done!" he barked.

Fox boosted himself right over Kain's ship. He flew straight ahead, drawing Kain with him. The canine had resumed his laser barrage.

Fox's plan for a feint at a building worked the first time so he thought he'd try it again. Only this time, it would be for everything. Fox sped towards the Bank of Corneria. It was easily recognizable. It was the only building in Corneria City with a hole in its center.

Fox dipped and dodged Kain's laser blasts in a mock effort to shake him off. Fox wanted Kain to come after him.

Buildings whizzed past the two combatants as they soared high above the metropolis of Corneria City. Fox continually checked the distance between him, Kain, and the Bank of Corneria. "100 meters and closing," Fox said to himself.

Kain continued to pound Fox with his operational lasers. Kain was twenty five meters behind Fox.

"That's too much," Fox remarked as he decelerated to allow Kain to move closer to him. The gap between Kain and Fox closed to ten meters.

Fox could feel Kain behind him. He sensed his presence. Fox fought his natural urge to try and shake a pursuing enemy. He had to fight his temptations for Krystal.

Kain apparently grew tired of firing lasers. "That's enough, Fox. This new fire cannon on my flagship will be the end," Kain snarled. "The end of Corneria, the end of you, and the end of Krystal." The center of the laser chamber of Kain's flagship burned a red-hot color as it gathered energy.

Fox noticed this new threat, but did not respond to it. His plan was already set in motion, and he could not stop it whether he wanted to or not. And he did not want to stop it. For Krystal.

75 meters.

Fox glanced at the building in the near distance.

50 meters.

The fire cannon erupted with a ball of spinning lava, heading straight for Fox.

25 meters.

Kain resumed his laser barrage.

15 meters.

The ball of fire closed in on Fox.

10 meters.

Fox braced himself.

5 meters.

Kain sped to ram the Aerowing out of the sky.

1 meter.

Fox closed his eyes and thought of Krystal.

Fox jammed down on the rusty control stick of the Aerowing. It nudged down, straight through the hole in the Bank of Corneria building. The glass of Fox's cockpit scraped across the edge of the hole as he passed through the other side.

The ball of fire impacted above the hole. It dispersed in a cloud of fire-red smoke and a thick haze filled the air, obscuring vision.

Kain's flagship sped on, as the canine could not see the building through the smoke, even close up. Kain sped up, not being able to angle through the hole he didn't know was there.

Kain impacted with the solid steel surface of the building, followed by collisions with pillars of stone and concrete, all twisting around the plane. Explosions rattled throughout Corneria City as pipes burst within the building. Fires raged within the crash site.

Fox sighed. "It's…its over." He prepped himself for a landing.

Then, sounds of scraping metal emanated from the site of Kain's 'demise.' The fires still carried on, although short sporadic engine bursts could be heard.

The nose of a ship cracked the glass on the opposite side of the building than the initial crash. The nose protruded, followed, slowly, by the chassis, and finally the twin engines of Kain's flagship, still intact.

Kain's voice crackled through intense static. "You –an't beat –e, Fox. I am the –uler of –or-eria. I –m the em-eror of L-lat. I am Kain!" The flagship's engines flared to life as he sped out of the twisted hole of metal and fire.

The remaining two anti-grav blades had been knocked off in the crash, leaving only two stubby wings to provide lift for the massive ship. Kain was almost dead in the air.

Fox spun his Aerowing around to face Kain. He racked his brain for a plan, but found nothing. Helpless, Fox turned to his instincts, as Peppy had always told him.

His instincts told him to fire. Fox pulled the trigger of the useless lasers. This time, there was no whirrrr sound. There was a sound like scraping metal. Fox pulled the trigger again, and the same sound occurred.

Fox jerked on the trigger with all his might. This time, a large piece of jagged metal shot out of the laser chamber. It had been blacking the passage way. Apparently it had gotten stuck in there while the Aerowing was sitting in the refuse pile.

The metal plate had been blocking the lasers from exiting their chambers. When Fox pulled the trigger for the last time, they had built up enough pressure to push the plate out. It headed straight for Kain.

Kain's voice crackled. "What!? That thing's a piece of junk! It's not supposed to work!? That's the reason it was in the junk pile! You can't beat me! That's the reason I'm the Emperor!" Kain fired his severely weak engines in a futile attempt to maneuver out of the way.

The giant metal plate blazed a path across the Cornerian skyline. It was meters from Kain's flagship. The dog could not get away, due to the extensive damage he had taken from the crash.

"No," Fox said, as a last word to Kain, "I'm the reason why you die. The reason is me."

The plate spun as it sliced into the compartments of Kain's flagship. It ripped metal from metal and threw tremendous sparks around the air. Great screeching noises radiated from the flagship, all throughout the area.

Halfway through the ship, the plate stopped. It had hit something.

The engine reactor.

The engines on Kain's flagship exploded. They spewed flames and pieces of molten iron. Kain's engines were gone.

Moving on the involuntary burst that his engine's explosions had given him, Kain drifted out from the Cornerian conurbation. He picked up speed as he cleared a building a plummeted to the ground.

With the help of gravity, Kain's ship smashed into the surface of the water of the great sea surrounding Corneria City.

Fox did not stay to see the demise of Kain. He had already landed. He was running to Krystal.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – For Love

Fox punched aggressively at the button for Sublevel 16 in the Cornerian Flight Academy's elevator. The elevator slowly rumbled down the floors to the great chamber; much too slow for Fox's tastes of the moment.

He glanced nervously at the counter. It read 'Basement 4.' Fox had quite a bit to go before he reached the Sublevels of the Academy.

Fox checked himself. Why was he so nervous? He had just taken down the Lylat System's biggest threat, and he was certain that Kain was down for good.

"Maybe it's Krystal," Fox though to himself. This didn't seem to make sense wither. When Krystal was captured last time on Sauria, Fox had freed her, no problem.

But still, Fox's foot tapped nervously on the cold metal floor of the elevator.

The elevator creaked as it glided down the shaft. Fox kept his eye on the counter all the way down. Finally, the elevator pinged and the doors opened.

In a blur of silver and beige, Fox dashed out of the elevator and into the rock hallway. He emerged into the great chamber and paused.

The hall was greatly different than the last time Fox had been in it. Before, the chamber had been circumscribed by smooth rock walls. Now, massive tremors had broken up the smooth rock face. Large pieces of stone fell onto the platform, scattering pieces of rock.

The earthquakes that were causing this scene came from the giant machine in the center of the room. The gas inside, once a tranquil blue, now whirled in a blazing red, like a bowl of lava. The gas spun so violently within the silo that it shook from the base of the machine, sending shockwaves all the way up to the surface of Corneria City. Fox had not felt these before, being in the air.

"How is this happening?" Fox asked, very perplexed. His eyes strayed from corner to corner of the great hall, searching for some kind of power source that might be connected to the machine.

"NO!" Fox moaned as he located the 'power source.'

It was Krystal.

Still caged within her gem of a prison, Krystal floated in a dream-like state of suspended animation. Her dwelling was changed, along with the majority of the great chamber. Like the gas within the silo, the blue gas had changed to a fiery red within the gem, swirling around Krystal. Extremely erratically, Krystal would convulse violently. The gas was hurting her. Bad.

"Krystal!" Fox desperately screamed as the vixen body keeled over amid the gas. She rapidly straightened out again, arching her back away from Fox.

Fox pounded on the glass of the gem in an attempt to break Krystal free. Pinpricks of blue light pulsed where Fox had struck the surface. Nothing else happened.

Fox's wrist communicator suddenly beeped. It was Peppy.

"What's going on down there?" the hare asked.

"An earthquake…Krystal…she's hurt!" Fox blurted out, hyperventilating. He began to lose his usually permanent composure.

"Fox, calm down! Tell me what's going on."

"I don't…I don't know," Fox stammered. "Krystal is trapped within a gem, just like the one on Sauria," Fox informed him.

"I'm getting energy readings. Intense ones," Peppy answered back. "They're coming from that machine in the room."

Fox paused. "How do you know about this machine?"

Peppy's end was silent for a few moments.

"Never mind that," Peppy finally answered. "You have to get out of there, Fox. That place is going to cave in if that machine keeps going. And there is no way to stop it!"

"I can't just leave Krystal here to die!" said Fox, forcefully.

The radio opened with a click and Peppy spoke in a voice that Fox had never heard from him before. "Fox, Krystal is going to die and there is nothing you can do about it."

Fox froze. What had Peppy just said? Fox's longtime mentor had told him to give up? To let a fellow team member die? And not any team member, Krystal?

Fox looked at Krystal's prison and it hit him. Kain's plan, the massive machine, Corneria's absence of a population.

Without a retort, Fox threw his wrist communicator at the wall. He had no more use for it. Why bother talking to a team that was being controlled?

Fox looked up to the ceiling as to shake his head at Peppy for being taken over so easily, but stopped midway. He spotted the top of the silo, spewing out the now blood-red gas in a stream all the way up to the surface. It radiated out into space, infecting all those who came in contact with it.

Fox had an idea. He hated it. A large boulder crashed next to him. He wished there was another way, but there wasn't.

Fox walked over to Krystal's gem prison and lovingly placed a hand on the glass in a macabre good bye.

Fox strode past Krystal, turning his head to keep her in his sight. He did not want to lose Krystal. Ever. But this time, she might be losing him.

Fox stood right before the machine as it bucked violently, sending a cascade of rocks upon Fox. He sighed. "Krystal, I have always loved you. And I do now."

Fox turned and climbed the machine's base, grabbing onto any nook and cranny that he could hook his fingers into. Fox pushed off with his feet and continued to climb up the structure.

Fox had figured out what was going on with the machine as he scaled the monolith, clearing the base.

He started the climb on the actual silo.

Kain had been using Krystal's telepathic powers to brainwash every mind in Lylat.

The silo twisted as Fox clung to the side of one of the golden bands.

But with Kain dead, the machine was not receiving orders from anyone. So it reverted to its default setting: absorb any nearby energy source and hibernate.

Fox shimmied up the spiraling band carefully, but swiftly.

The energy source that the machine had chosen was Krystal. Not only was the machine draining Krystal's telepathic force, but her life force as well.

Fox pulled himself up and grabbed onto the edge of the top of the silo.

The machine was killing Krystal.

Fox latched his second hand onto the ledge of the silo and poked his head up onto the two square meter platform. The red gas swirled up, engulfing Fox's head immediately.

Fox was sent into a horrible coughing fit. His body shook and trembled as he somehow managed to hold onto the edge of the dais. The brick-red gas erupting from the top of the silo was toxic.

Fox looked down at the floor. He saw boulders scattered across the floor and cracks in the walls. The chamber was falling apart. Then he saw Krystal, still in her prison of magic. The sight of Fox's loved one inspired him.

He dove back into the gas, gritting his teeth. He choked furiously as the gas entered his lungs, closing them up. Fox, through shear love, stood up on the steel grate that separated him from the inside of the silo.

The gas slightly tinted his clothes. Slowly, Fox began to lose feeling in his toes, then his feet, then his legs. The gas was paralyzing him.

Not only was the gas paralytic, it was forming a glass case around Fox's feet, identical to the one Krystal was encased in.

The gas had fully paralyzed Fox. He could not even move his neck. All he could do was blink and breathe.

The gem had quickly built to the height of Fox's chest. He had only seconds left before the end.

When the gem was at his throat, Fox uttered his final words. "Krystal…I love you!"

The gem closed over Fox's mouth and head, fully enveloping him. Fox had been entombed forever. Trapped forever. Forever. For love.

The silo's erratic spinning stopped, as did the tremors, the spewing gases, and the room's collapse.

All was quiet in the great chamber as the red gem around Krystal faded. She fell to the floor, freed from her prison.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Leaderless

Krystal lay on the cold stone floor of the platform. She shifted slightly and lifted her head slowly. She looked around to see a sight of epic proportions.

Boulders were strewn across the platform as they had fallen from the wall. The rock face was pockmarked with holes. Gold glinted in Krystal's eyes as she saw the monolith before her, covered in tiny pebbles and rocks.

A lone ray of light shone in from the top of the great chamber. It shined upon the base of the machine and illuminated everything above it in a cool light.

Krystal looked up at the light and let out a gasp. She saw Fox. The only problem was that he was encased within a blood-red gem on the very top of the great silo.

Krystal placed her hand over her mouth as she stifled a scream. Fox was hundreds of meters up and trapped beyond Krystal's reach.

Moments after regaining consciousness, Krystal almost fainted.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway that led to the exit of the great chamber. Krystal turned, tears welling in her eyes, to see Peppy, Falco, and Slippy all frozen. Each one was staring up at Fox's body. Falco rushed over to Krystal and helped her up from her knees.

Without a word, they all walked back to the Great Fox.

The Great Fox hovered in the air, securely moored to the dock of the Corneria Flight Academy. Its engines fired periodically to keep it steady.

Inside, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy sat huddled around Krystal on the bridge. The vixen's head bobbed up and down, buried in her hands. Tears seeped through her pressed fingers.

"And then he trapped himself to save you," Falco solemnly finished. He had just retold Krystal of all the events after her imprisonment.

Krystal's voice warbled from her sobbing. "Was there no other way? Did he need to kill himself?"

Falco bowed his head. "That thing was killing you," he said referring to the machine. "Fox sacrificed himself…for you."

Krystal stared off into space in a futile attempt to see Fox. She was greeted with the cold hard steel of the Great Fox's hull. The cold hard unforgiveness of death.

The vixen broke down and cried uncontrollably.

The team sat in excruciating sorrow. Their leader, the one who got them through everything, the one that held them up when they were low, their guiding force, their rock, was gone. Fox McCloud was trapped forever, and for all intents and purposes, dead.

Krystal continued to cry as the tears rolled down her face, matting her fur. Peppy and Slippy both sat with their heads bowed, and Falco stared off into space.

Seconds passed as only the sound to pierce the silence was Krystal's crying. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes to hours, it seemed. Time had no authority. The team could have sat there in sorrow for years.

Peppy choked back a tear. "We…we have to go to Macbeth… The survivors of Kain's mind control onslaught are there and they need our help."

The team slowly shifted to their carious tasks. It was what Fox would have wanted them to do.

Krystal sat dejectedly on the edge of the bed in her room. Her thoughts ran rampant. The walls had no influence on her mind.

Not a sound echoed through the Great Fox, despite the team members' various activities. Slippy was piecing together the Aerowing Fox had flown, and Falco was loading pieces of useable salvage onto the ship. Peppy was prepping for a take-off for Macbeth.

"Why did it have to happen like this?" Krystal asked out loud. "Why is he gone? What did he do to deserve this?"

Krystal was quite right. Fox had given everything for the greater good. He gave his Arwing and his Landmaster in battle. He had given up his promised pay as a mercenary so that Corneria City could be repaired. Fox had even given his own room to Krystal.

And now, Fox had given his life for her. The ultimate sacrifice, and Krystal felt that she was not deserving of Fox's life.

She lifted her head and surveyed the room with blurry eyes. She spied a few of Fox's possessions: a pare blaster, various military medals, and a silver jacket.

Krystal walked over to the jacket and picked it up. She hugged it as if she was hugging Fox himself. She gripped it tight.

"Is he gone?" she asked.

She stroked the jacket.

"He can't be gone."

Krystal gripped it tighter.

"It can't be true."

The vixen clutched the coat even firmer.

"It isn't true."

Her knuckles turned white.

"FOX ISN'T GONE!" Krystal screamed. A burst of energy shot forth from her body in all directions, fueled by her intense emotions.

The wave of energy passed through the walls of the Great Fox and out into Corneria City. It passed through buildings and roads, penetrating the ground itself.

Krystal fell back onto her bead, exhausted.

The wave struck something. Something it could not penetrate. Something with her powers in it…

Something under water. Something in a ship that was submerged. Something that had once been atop a dog's head…

The energy rebounded from the object and back to Krystal, like a radar signal. She surged to her feet, breathing heavily, extremely confused.

It felt like her powers had been stolen from her. Something had held them. Something…

Krystal realized what it was. She waited only a second to hug the jacket she was holding one more time. Krystal dashed from the room, barely missing the sliding doors.

The vixen sprinted the full length of the hallway to the bridge. Krystal was both ecstatic and extremely nervous about what she had just discovered.

Peppy, stunned, turned as the doors to the bridge slid open and Krystal ran in at full speed.

"Open the hatch to the outside!" she told Peppy.

"Krystal," Peppy said in a consoling manner, "he's gone. You just have to let go."

"I am NOT leaving Fox here! Now open the hatch!"

Peppy opened the hatch, obeying Krystal's brash commands. He had no idea what was going on. Krystal sprinted down the ramp that had descended from the floor of the Great Fox and ran to the surface of Corneria City.

It was nighttime and the moon was full. Street lights cast yellow light onto buildings and roads.

Krystal paid no attention to the ghastly look of the city at this time of night. She ran in the direction of the energy pulse she had felt. The path led her to the ocean surrounding the city.

Krystal passed through buildings and parking lots. She approached the ledge of cement that ended the solid surface of Corneria City. Off into the horizon was a never-ending sea.

Krystal scanned the surface of the water. She didn't know what to look for exactly, but she kept looking. Her mind's eye knew what to search for. A glint of light flashed in the ocean. It was moonlight off of metal.

Krystal dove into the water headfirst. Kicking and churning her feet for propulsion, she drove herself towards the flash of light. A stream of moonlight guided her path.

As Krystal became closer to the object, she made out the outline of a plane, submerged in water, save a wing that stuck out. Krystal's wet hair fell into her face. Water churned behind her in a mini-wake as she stroked towards the submerged flagship. The moonlight illuminated the ship more clearly now.

Meters before the ship, Krystal held her breath and dove beneath the oceans surface. She groped around and caught the edge of the ship. Opening her eyes, she wrenched the nearby door open and entered the watery wreck.

Still holding her breath, Krystal took in the sight of the inside of the ship. Debris floated freely, having been knocked loose by an enormous crash. Krystal pushed these aside. They were not what she was looking for.

Then, a body floated at Krystal inside the ship. A large, muscular body with arms outstretched. The body was covered with a military uniform. Krystal recoiled.

However, the cadaver did not move. It lay suspended in the water, still as a lone tree in a meadow.

Krystal reached past the arms of the corpse and to its head. Running out of air, Krystal snatched the hat from the deceased's head and rushed to the surface for oxygen.

The vixen's head popped through the surface of the water. She gasped for air, still clutching the hat she had retrieved from the ship.

Glowing on the front of the hat was a gem placed within the brim. The gem that held Krystal's powers.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – The Roses at Dawn

It was as if the sea had parted. All objects were cleared and the path was straight and true. This was how Krystal felt as she ran down Main Street in the heart of Corneria City. Buildings lined the street on each side, not daring to get in her way as she sprinted down the road to the Cornerian Flight Academy.

Still in her right hand was the hat that had once been worn by the foul dog, Kain. The gem in the brim glowed faintly. It once held Krystal's powers, as she placed all hope in the belief that it would once more.

The moon stood still at the horizon, casting a pale light down the street. It illuminated Krystal, who continued to sprint towards the building at the end of the street.

Krystal panted, exhausted from the day's events. She dared not to slow, however. She knew that if the gem she held died out, it could never be used again. As she thought of this, the vixen glanced down at the gem. It pulsed and faded a little bit.

"No," Krystal pleaded. If the gem's powers faded completely, Fox's life was gone as well.

Krystal's wrist communicator beeped as she sped down Main Street. Her heart jumped. Usually, Fox was the one on the other end. This time, however, it was Peppy.

"Krystal, where are you?" the veteran asked.

"I'm heading to the Flight Academy," Krystal answered through breaths.

Peppy sighed. "Krystal," he said slowly, "you just have to accept it. It's over. Fox is gone. He's dead."

"He is not gone!" Krystal shouted. "Fox is not gone! I can save him!"

Peppy began to say something, but Krystal did not listen. She was deftly climbing the marble steps of the Academy that she had just reached. The steps were scarred with burn marks and were missing chunks of rock. All results from another of Fox's heroic feats.

Krystal placed her hand on the large steel doors to enter the Academy. A surge of energy pulsed through her. She had touched the door in the same place as Fox had. A vision rushed through her head.

Krystal saw Fox smirking triumphantly in his Arwing as he sped away from exploding Venom. The scene switched to Fox shooting bombs at Andross with Sauria in the background. Krystal was greeted with a familiar sight as she saw Fox defeating the Aparoid Queen. Then, she saw Fox walking towards the Academy with Sergeant Carne in the background, surrounded by sensor bombs. A flash of light and then Krystal viewed Kain's flagship plummeting into the ocean, while Fox smiled.

Darkness overcame Krystal's vision, followed by the sight of a graveyard. She scanned over the tombstones. They read: Andross, Aparoids, Sergeant Carne, and Kain.

However, the last tombstone was set apart from the others. It was newer and the dirt in front of it was fresh, having just been laid down. Krystal leaned in to read the inscription.

She gasped in horror.

"Fox McCloud."

The vision abruptly ended. Krystal found herself standing at the door of the Cornerian Flight Academy. She was mortified by what she had seen.

Krystal felt a tremble in her hand. She looked down. The gem in the hat shook and dimmed to almost nothing.

Krystal sprinted into the Academy, heading for Fox.

The elevator descended the floors of the Cornerian Flight Academy. It rumbled and moaned as it slid down the shaft. The counter beeped incessantly with the passing of each and every floor.

The elevator's distracting sounds went unnoticed to its occupant, however. Krystal stood in the center of the elevator, breathing heavily. She was exhausted, but that was not the reason for her fatigue.

Krystal was stressed to her boiling point as she stared at the gem inside Kain's hat. It could have been called anything but glowing. A faint speck of blue light flared in the very center of the gem.

"Please," Krystal begged the emerald. "Please stay lit."

The vixen gripped the hat tight and closed her eyes in a quite prayer, hoping against hope, as the floors ticked off the elevator counter.

"You can't go. You can't," she whispered into the gem. "I love you."

After another minute of crippling anxiety, the elevator reached its destination: Sublevel 16. The machine pinged as the doors glided apart gracefully. Krystal dashed from the cramped elevator and into the rock hallway.

It all seemed familiar to Krystal: the elevator ride, and now the walk through the corridor. She had done it all before, in fact. Although the last time she did this she was unconscious.

Krystal cleared the hallway and emerged into the great chamber. Even though she had seen it before, Krystal still froze in shock as she looked at the top of the now stationary silo.

Fox floated motionlessly, encased in the fire-red gem. Krystal choked back a scream as she surveyed the horrifying sight for a second time. Fox, arms pushing against the side of the gem, was gone.

"No," Krystal told herself. "There's still a chance." She looked at the gem in her hand. The speck of light in the center flickered, threatening to vanish, startling Krystal.

It was not enough to keep her flat-footed, however. Krystal sprinted to the monolith of iron in the great chamber. She placed the hat on her head and began to climb faster than she had ever done anything in her life.

She cleared the bas of the machine roughly as fast as Fox had. As she started on the actual silo, which stood four times taller than the base, the gem in the hat trembled. It started blinking.

Krystal picked up the pace as she felt the rumble on her head.

blink…blink…blink…

Krystal latched herself onto a golden band. She climbed hand over hand, pushing with her feet.

blink……blink……blink……

The vixen gracefully swung her body weight so that she jumped from one band to another. She was about fifty meters from the top. Still, Krystal scaled the silo as if nothing else mattered to her than Fox. And nothing did.

blink…………blink…………

Krystal threw her gloved hand and caught the ledge of the top of the silo. She pulled herself up quickly.

blink……………………

Krystal stood on the tiny platform with Fox's prison. She stared at Fox's eyes. They were open, but he did not blink or look around. But they were open. Open and full of pain.

Krystal took the hat and pried the gem from the brim. It popped out and she discarded the useless hat. It tumbled all the way to the floor.

The sweet vixen pressed the gem against the blood-red wall of Fox's cell, closing her eyes.

Then, Krystal spoke a most ancient, most sacred, most powerful spell of the now extinct Cerinians. It was a spell so powerful that it could flatten mountains, raise plains, and dry lakes.

Krystal spoke as if she was talking to Fox.

"_The roses at dawn_

_cover the garden,_

_as the buck and the fawn_

_have a lasting affection._

_The love that we share_

_cannot be undone,_

_although two people we are_

_our love is but one._

_Through all the things we ever see,_

_I'll have you and you'll have me."_

The gem flared to life. It pulsed an intense blue and shifted to a red color at the center. The red dot slowly expanded in the gem, canceling out the blue in the emerald.

Krystal opened her eyes. She gasped. However, this time, it was not in fright. It was in surprise.

The gem was slowly turning blue, as the piece of jewelry Krystal was holding turned red. Gradually, the two gems changed color.

Krystal cringed in pain. She could feel her power being drawn from her, being used by the gem in her hand. It hurt, but Krystal did not even think about stopping it.

The two gems had now completely switched colors. The gem in her hand was fire-red, and it felt like it, too. The gem burned like a flame, causing Krystal to throw the gem down, off of the silo.

The gem burned because it had absorbed all of the malevolent energy in the larger gem. The black magic that had been trapping Fox had been sapped from the once horrid prison. Now, the walls pulsed a cool blue. A wave rippled through the gem, and the magical barrier dissolved.

The gem's walls disappeared, starting from the top. Clean air replaced the space where toxic gas had been within the gem. The walls continued to disband, as Fox's head was revealed. The gem finally faded all the way, releasing the valiant hero.

Fox fell limp on the tiny platform. He began to roll off the side of the silo but was stopped by Krystal's hand on his shoulder. Krystal rolled him back to the center of the platform. She kneeled down as Fox lay unconscious on his back. Krystal ran her hand over Fox's face.

His eyes fluttered. Fox coughed violently, causing him to sit up. Krystal placed her hand on his back in a caring effort to comfort him.

Fox finished coughing and looked around him. He saw exactly what he wanted to see: a smiling Krystal.

"Krystal! You're alright!" Fox said, relieved. Moments after overcoming death itself, the first thing on Fox's mind was Krystal's wellbeing.

Fox propped himself up and rested his weight on his elbows. With Krystal kneeling down, their faces were right next to each others.

"So are you!" Krystal added. "I'm so eased to see that you're okay!"

Fox looked around him. He was a little dizzy from the ordeal with the gem and could not quite remember where he was. Fox scanned the great chamber and finally realized what had happened and why he was on top of this giant silo.

"The gem is gone! How did you-," Fox started.

"Remember that gem in Kain's hat? He had used my powers in it to make a shield. I just reversed the gem's powers and drew the magic out of the gem."

Fox was still a little puzzled. "But how did you get the gem in the first place?"

Krystal was delighted to tell him, although she wore an embarrassed expression on her face. "I dove down into the ocean and into his ship. I got his hat, and once I had the gem, I came down here for you."

Fox blushed. "You would do that for me?"

Krystal smiled at him. "You would have died for me."

Krystal leaned into Fox. She placed her soft lips on his and gave Fox the best kiss he ever had. She leaned back out.

"Wow," Fox said, amazed. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes, Fox," Krystal confirmed. "I would have died for you, too."

Krystal leaned in again. Fox wrapped his arm around Krystal and kissed her back. They were in love. Always had been. Always will be.

Daylight broke over Corneria City as sunlight poured through the hole in the ceiling of the great chamber underneath the Cornerian Flight Academy. Light surrounded Fox and Krystal as their lips were locked in a loving embrace.

TheEnd

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